North Star
by Phoesong
Summary: Terrence and Mac have never been the closest of siblings after their father's death. Now, 5 years have passed. Mac is 13 and in high school; Terrence is 18 and in college. But when an unexpected kidnapping tears them both away from familiar ground, they need to learn how to trust one another to return home safely, or else never make it back alive.
1. Chapter 1

**Author's note: As a sibling myself, I really like to play around with brother-brother, brother-sister, and sister-sister relationships. I'm actually very close with my brother, so it's difficult to understand how Terrence and Mac would interact with each other, but I'm playing around with this story to get a vibe for it. I was in a cheesy mood. Reviews are always welcome!**

**P.S. I wrote "Through Different Eyes" if you want to read more about Terrence and his father's relationship (or at least how I perceive it).**

**I do not own Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends.**

* * *

><p><em>Flashback<em>

_Mac: 2_

_Terrence: 7 _

"Wow dad! Did you see that? Did you?" Terrence pointed excitedly at the pitch-black velvety sky. The stars above glittered merrily, gracing the world with a halo of glowing white, majestic balls of fire. His father chuckled as he balanced a happily gurgling Mac on his lap.

"Yes, I did all right! That was one fine shooting star you saw there, Terrence. You sure have an eye for these things." Terrence beamed modestly at his father's praise.

"I like the stars," he admitted shyly.

"Which one's your favorite?"

"I don't know. But I like black holes! They're ginormous like this!" Terrence spread out his arms. "And they can even suck in light!" His father laughed at his antics. Curiosity suddenly won over Terrence.

"What's your favorite star, daddy?"

"Mine? Mine's the North Star."

"Why?" His father blushed embarrassingly.

"When I was a young man, I fell in love with your mother at first sight. She liked someone else at the time, and I felt so lost...I didn't know what to do, or if she would ever notice me-"

"Daaaad," Terrence moaned, "Stop lying. That never happened because you're married to mom." It was difficult to imagine that his mother ever loved someone else other than his dad. His dad however, shook his head violently.

"No, no, true story! And then I looked up and saw the North Star, and walked toward it, wondering if your mother would ever love me. And as I was walking, I accidentally bumped into someone. And would you believe it, that someone happened to be your mom."

"That's so cheesy! I think I'm going to be sick."

"Quiet, you," his father reprimanded in mock seriousness. "But I like the North Star. It brings you closer to someone you love. Now, if you ever happen to be lost, like me, you should _always_-"

"Follow the North Star."

"No, I want you to call the police. I don't want you wandering out who knows where in the streets because daddy told you to follow the North Star."

* * *

><p><em>Flashback<em>

_Mac: 8_

_Terrence: 13_

The way was clear, the pedestrian signal blinked a fluorescent green. The gravel crunched beneath his feet as he quickly walked across the road with eagerness. Mac felt giddy with joy, and happy thoughts raced through his head. _It's Summer vacation! Yes! No school for three more months! An entire summer of fun at Foster's-_

"Having fun, bro?" Mac groaned internally as he heard the scratchy voice behind him. He had forgotten what had always happened on the very last day of the school year.

"Going to that freaky little freak house again, are you?"

"Go away, Terrence."

His older brother only chortled with laughter. He smirked, then suddenly snapped out his arm like lightning and grasped the back of Mac's knapsack, lifting it up slightly so that Mac's toes barely grazed the sidewalk. Mac struggled in midair.

"Stop it, Terrence!"

_"Stop it,_ _Terrence,_" he mimicked in a high-pitched falsetto voice. He grinned, and raised his other hand in a fist. Mac blanched, voice quavering slightly.

"T-T-Terrence, please."

Terrence grinned wickedly. "Aww, come on, bro. Let's have _fun_ together." And then the fists rained down.

* * *

><p>Present day<p>

Mac: 13

Terrence: 18

The bell rang, signaling dismissal. Swinging his bag over his shoulder, Mac ran out of his high school English classroom. Stuffing binders and papers into his knapsack, he grabbed his skateboard from his locker. Tossing his skateboard onto the ground, he quickly checking the time on his watch: 5 minutes till 3:00 PM. Mac then jumped on his skateboard, ready to leave for Foster's before Bloo got adopted. Or he would have, if a certain someone had not chosen to pluck the skateboard off from the ground.

"Terrence," Mac growled. "I don't have time for this today. I'm going to be late for Foster's." Terrence, while now past his growth-spurts, was still taller than Mac. The older brother rolled his eyes and nonchalantly spun the skateboard wheels with an index finger.

"Why not? Is it wrong for me to want to see my little brother?"

"Yes. Now give it back," Mac snapped. He wrenched the skateboard out of Terrence's loose grip. "And don't you have a job to do?"

"I have the day off. No pizza delivery for me today." Terrence cocked an eyebrow. "This conversation isn't over yet, you know," he threatened. "Don't forget that we still live under the same roof."

"Unfortunately," Mac muttered under his breath.

Terrence was attending the local college with a full football scholarship. To lower costs, Mac's mother had decided to let him stay at home, much to Mac's displeasure. Because Terrence was legally an adult, their mother also hoped that he could also help out at home with some responsibilities including looking after Mac, which Terrence quickly found extremely annoying and burdensome.

"You know, I could beat you up for your snark."

A flicker of fear flitted through Mac's eyes before it faded to be replaced with a scowl. Mac normally was a shy, yet considerate person, but when it came to Terrence, he immediately traded his compassionate gaze for a wary glare.

Mac suddenly leaped onto his skateboard and sped off swiftly. Terrence ran behind him with a loud, "HEY! Come back here! Mom's coming home early today, loser! If she gets mad at me, I REALLY will beat you up. DO YOU HEAR ME?!" Mac ignored him, and Terrence slowed to a jog, knowing he wouldn't be able to catch up. Although Mac pretended not to listen to him, at least he actually did what he was told. Terrence snorted. Once a momma's boy, always a momma's boy.

* * *

><p>"Master Mac, you are 30 seconds late. What have you to say for yourself?"<p>

Mac grinned cheekily at the uptight rabbit's affected British accent. "Sorry, Mr. Herriman. I ran into an unexpected circumstance today. But honest, I swear I'll come in time tomorrow."

"That you should," Mr. Herriman huffed impatiently at the teen, before hopping over to his office. Bloo burst out of the dining room.

"MAC! That's great, you're here! Now let's get to work, I set up the entire prank. This is going to be a blast! Haha see what I did there? A_ blast? _Here, I'll even let you rig the electric cables!" Mac laughed at Bloo's eagerness, then sobered up.

"Sorry Bloo, I can't stay any longer today. Mom's coming home early."

"Awwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww...," Bloo pouted. "But Maaaaaaaaac, we've planned this for a week!" Mac rolled his eyes in good humor. Squatting down to Bloo's height, he whispered conspiratorially.

"But I'll come early tomorrow. Then we can set _it_ off. If you want, you can get more light bulbs. It'll flash up more brightly." Bloo's eyes lit up, then narrowed suspiciously into an unusually serious face.

"You promise to come early tomorrow?"

"Definitely."

"No excuses? No random school events? No 'Sorry, Bloo, I had a solar car club meeting' or 'I was late because of Mathelete practice'?"

"No. No clubs and activities tomorrow. Just an entire day of fun at Foster's."

"Swear upon your honor?"

"I swear," Mac couldn't help but laugh at the goofy smile Bloo was now sporting.

"YES! Tomorrow is going to be so _awesome!_"

"See you later, Bloo!" Mac called out as he raced out of the foyer. Bloo waved him out with a blobby arm.

"Bye buddy! Don't be late!"

* * *

><p>The door resounded with a loud knock. Beaming, Bloo immediately reached for the doorknob and opened the door.<p>

"Mac! You're ba-hey, what are _you _doing here?" Terrence only drew out a long suffering sigh. Foster's only held the not-so-pleasant past memories of his life, and Terrence's patience was already at breaking point without having to meet his younger brother's imaginary friend.

"Look, I don't enjoy being here as much as you do. I'm only here because our mom was wondering where Mac went. I'm supposed to pick him up from school today."

"He's gone. He left early today," Bloo crossed his arms with a frown. "Why do you care? You're up to something, aren't you?"

"No, blobface, I'm not," Terrence scowled. "Like I'd care a rat's fart to where my brother goes to every day. He can get himself kidnapped walking home and I'd wouldn't even give a sh-"

"Who's there? Terrence?" Frankie appeared at the doorway in disbelief. "What are you doing here?" Bloo continued to glower, unfazed by Frankie's presence.

"Apparently he's looking for Mac. Probably to beat him up."

"That's it! You're wasting my time. I'm leaving," Terrence snapped, spinning around and slamming the door.

* * *

><p>Terrence stared stonily across the dinner table. Mac ignored his gaze by keeping his eyes on his food. Unfazed by this one-sided staring contest, their mother continued with her lecture.<p>

"Mac, you came home late today. I know you have school and extracurricular activities, but I get worried whenever you walk home alone. That's why asked Terrence to pick you up every day."

"Sorry mom. I had to stop by the library to renew my chemistry manual," Mac stated truthfully - after going to Foster's he would always head straight for the local library to do his homework or return books. Anything to avoid sharing the same space with Terrence. Terrence scowled darkly at the half-truth and stabbed viciously at a piece of broccoli with his fork.

"Yeah, 'cause coming late has absolutely nothing to do with going to Foster's," Terrence muttered under his breath. Mac thankfully did not rile up easily, and ignored the bait.

"I understand. Next time though, please do keep an eye out for the time, and let Terrence know where you are," their mom encouraged. If she noticed the increasing tension between her sons, she did not remark upon it.

"All right, mom," Mac said, using his best effort to give a weary smile. Terrence gagged conspicuously, and their mother shot him a reproachful look.

"Terrence, you're not entirely off the hook either. I expected better from you. You were responsible for picking up Mac. I bought you a car for that reason."

""It's a bit hard to pick up your brother if he doesn't tell anyone where to pick him up from who-knows-where," Terrence casually said, directing his accusation to his younger brother. Mac only stared back with a silent challenge in his eyes.

"Please, Terrrence. I know I'm asking you a huge favor especially since you're in college, but as the eldest, try your best to get along with your brother, okay?" his mother pleaded. Terrence glowered once more at Mac, who was now openly glaring back with the same mixture of loathing and hatred. _Fat chance,_ he thought. But his mother looked so worn out and tired from work, and he really wasn't in the mood to start a an argument. So he replied out loud curtly.

"Okay."

This was going to be one long night.


	2. Chapter 2

**Auther's Note: I might have mentioned this at some point, but my writing/posting schedule is very sporadic. But in this case, it acted for the best. :) I was unexpectedly able to find ample time to write today, so I finished this chapter and posted it just in case my next update might take a while. Thank you for all your support! **

** Justapianistgirl: Thanks! I'm glad that you also like stories about Mac and Terrence! Sometimes I hoped that the cartoon would expand on their family life, but it ended up mainly focusing on Mac and Bloo's antics (although those were usually entertaining to watch). **

** It'sJustAKindOfMagic: Thank you so much! :) Your enthusiastic reviews about my stories always makes my day. I'll try my best to write well!**

* * *

><p>"Remember what I told you yesterday at dinner, boys! Have fun at school, and stay safe!" Their mother called as she briskly swiped her purse and laptop off the counter. Giving Terrence a small hug and ruffling Mac's hair, she swept out from the room, gently shutting the door behind her with a click. Immediately, Terrence rounded on Mac.<p>

"You'd better meet me right after school today." Mac only nonchalantly shrugged on his bag, and soon the wheels of his skateboard clattered as it responded by accelerating over the uneven concrete.

Watching him leave, Terrence groaned and dragged his hand down his face. _Why was looking after his brother such a pain in the rear? _

* * *

><p>School passed by in a bur, and time flew. Soon 2:30 PM was chiming in his ears, and Mac was out and ready. Already, he tossed down his skateboard, mind focused on Foster's. He grinned. Today was <em>the <em>day for the prank. Bloo had hopefully taken care of the loose ends. This was going to be a blast!

"Where do you think _you're _going?" Terrence growled, suddenly materializing from behind him and twirling his car keys around in his left hand. Mac flinched back, startled by his presence at first, then firmly replied back unfazed.

"Going to Foster's."

"You're not going anywhere, but home."

"I can't! I promised Bloo to meet him early today."

"What a shame. I guess you'll have to call it off and tell your little friend that you can't come today."

"But Bloo might get adopted!"

"Well, boohoo. Like I care. Come on, home. NOW."

"No," Mac said stubbornly. Terrence sighed exasperated.

"If you don't move, I'll tell mom where you really go after school every day."

Mac bristled. "That was a low blow. And Mom won't believe you. She knows you've had it out for me and Bloo for years." Terrence finally snapped.

"Dude, do you think I have nothing to do but pick you up from school? Football season is starting soon, and I have college projects to catch up on. Who do you think I am? Your personal chaffeur? Well this stops now! Let's GO!" He raged, seizing Mac's arm and yanking it backwards painfully.

"Ow, OW HEY! Stop it!" Mac yelped, wincing from the stabbing, sharp pain shooting through. Wriggling his arm free, he glared at his older brother. "No means no! You've always forced me to do what you want, and I've always done it without saying anything. Well you know what? I'm tired of being punched and kicked around! I'm going to Foster's, and you can't stop me!" Finishing his rant, Mac breathed in and out heavily, and he stiffened in apprehension. Terrence's eyes narrowed and flashed dangerously.

"I don't have time for your immature, teenage tirade. This is my last warning. Walk over to the car. _N__ow_."

"Make me."

They stared each other down for an unknown amount of time, deep brown against liquid black. Then Terrence lunged forward. Nimbly sidestepping, Mac dodged and clambered onto his skateboard, furiously pedaling his feet against the ground to garner speed. Building blurred passed as Terrence lumbered after Mac like a bear chasing a squirrel. But Terrence put his football quarterback skills to the test, tackling Mac as they entered Wilson Way. Mac tried to recover, but Terrence quickly twisted his wrist and delivered a swift punch to the gut. Crying out in pain, Mac doubled over, wheezing on the ground. Desperately, Mac stretched out his fingers to his skateboard, which was just out of his grasp. Terrence reached it first, however, and he lifted it into the air grimly. Mac's eyes widened, and a sour taste entered his mouth.

"P-please, Terrence. My friends at Foster's gave me that skateboard. Don't do-don't-" For a second, Mac thought he spotted a flicker of what looked like pity flash through his brother's eyes. But he must have imagined it, because Terrence was now shaking his head determinedly.

"This is for your own good."

And in front of Mac's horrified eyes, Terrence wrenched the skateboard apart as easily as tearing paper. Awful crunches and snaps filled the air like a screeching symphony of music. Its pieces rained onto the ground and littered the street sadly like dead ashes. Brushing off the dust from his jeans, Terrence turned around.

"Come on, we need to walk back to the car-" He suddenly stumbled as a force slammed into him. Whipping around, Terrence was astonished to witness the sudden change in his younger brother. Mac almost looked like a completely different person, wet eyes filled with dark fury, and his entire body trembled from pain and reckless anger.

"What's wrong with you?" Mac cried out. Terrence was dumbstruck and lost for words as Mac began his explosive rant.

"Did you know that Wilt spent 30 hours trying to find these pair of wheels? Did you know that Bloo painted this design? Did you know that Madame Foster lent me the wood from her grandfather's desk? Did you?"

"Mac, it's only a skateboard, don't be ridi-"

"No, it's NOT! My _friends_ spent so much time making that for me! But you wouldn't care would you? Because you don't have any friends doesn't mean you need to blame me for actually having friends!"

"WHAT! You take that back!" Terrence yelled furiously. "I _do _have friends! On my football team, in my classes-"

"Then why are you always butting into my life?!" Mac exploded.

"You think I _want_ to but into your life? Well, I don't give a crap about it! I have no choice because that's what Mom wants me to do! Do you know how annoying it is to see mom think you're always so perfect and honest, but to know that she never trusts me? So stop acting like a self-entitled, spoiled jerk of a brat like you've always been!"

Mac blanched. The reckless anger seemed to have drained out of him, and his eyes began to water. Whipping around, he ran down the street. Terrence groaned internally. Of all the reactions, this was much more annoying than crying because he actually had to chase Mac down and lug him home. Mom was going to kill him.

"MAC! Come back, jest-get over here, okay? WHERE ARE YOU GOING, DOOFUS?"

The Foster's mansion loomed in the background. Terrence groaned internally. Of course Mac would head off to his little sanctuary. But if Mac arrived there, who knew how long he'd stay before he returned home? Not to mention that Bloo would probably beat him up for bullying Mac. As Mac vanished around a corner, Terrence sprinted faster.

"Wait! MAC!"

Once he rounded the corner, however, his jaw opened agape at the unexpected sight ahead. Mac was struggling against a man clad in black, who had pinned both his arms behind his back. Mac, obviously caught off-guard, weakly tried to kick out at his captor's legs, but the man brutally twisted his already injured right wrist. When the younger boy cried out in pain, the man quickly clapped a thick hand over his mouth, muffling his voice.

"HEY! Let go of my brother!" Terrence shouted angrily. As he lunged forward, the man looked up and jerked his head down curtly in a commanding signal. Immediately, to his astonishment, Terrence found himself surrounded by three more muscular men, all of whom wearing cargo pants and white undershirts to emphasize their bulging biceps.

_This is a set-up, _Terrence realized. _But for what? _

All three men attacked at once. Despite his shock, Terrence was able to dodge a blow from one man and a roundhouse kick from the other. But then the last of the trio stopped his uppercut in mid-air and sneakily swept his legs under his, tripping Terrence over. Terrence flopped ungracefully onto his rear just as man #3, leering with splotchy yellow teeth, threw a swift rabbit punch to his temple. Suddenly, time slowed, and Terrence caught sight of his brother, who was staring back at him with terrified brown eyes.

_Mom's going to kill me_. He thought.

Then the world turned black.


	3. Chapter 3

**Author's note:**

**Thank you all for your interest! Sometimes I started off with a crummy day (i.e. lost my phone, stressful examination, etc), but your reviews and favs really made my day a whole lot brighter. :) I'm a little pressed for time (sorry for not being able to address your reviews personally on this chapter), but you have no idea how much your support means to me. **

**Of course, I bet most of you want to skip this crummy author's note stuff to read, eh? ;) In that case, enjoy!**

**I do not own FHFIF**

* * *

><p>"Ungh." Terrence blearily opened his eyes. The ground was moving and bumping up and down, and his stomach felt nauseous. <em>Ooh ouch his head hurt<em>. Groaning, he massaged his temples, wincing particularly at the sore area he was punched.

_Wait, punched? Then he had been kidnapped and-MAC!_ Terrence swiveled around in alarm. "Mac? MAC? MAAAAC!"

"Calm down, I'm right here," his brother's slightly muffled voice filtered through the air from the other side of the moving truck. Terrence turned around. Mac was gloomily gazing at the ground in front of him, averting his gaze from his older brother's. As he double-checked to make sure that Mac was actually here, Terrence's gaze dropped to his brother's hands and ankles, which were tied up securely with rope.

"How come I'm not tied up?" Terrence blurted out. Mac blinked owlishly at him._  
><em>

"You _are _tied up. Look at your legs."

"_No,_" Terrence gritted his teeth and bit back a nasty comment about insulting his intelligence. "I meant my wrists aren't tied up like yours. See?" He held them out.

"They ran out of rope. Apparently, they didn't expect another person to show up, and they hoped you were going to be unconscious until we arrived. Apparently they were wrong."

"Where are we headed anyway?"

"I have no idea."

"And you have no idea why they kidnapped you?" Terrence asked. Mac shook his head silently. Terrence shot his brother an exasperated look.

"Don't you know _anything_?"

"Oh, I'm sorry I was stuffed inside the back of a van trying to think of escape plans while my brother was knocked out cold," His brother snidely snarked back. Terrence stiffened, and disgustedly threw up his hands into the air.

"Ugh! See, this is why mom told me to pick you up after school! If you hadn't run off in the first place, we wouldn't even be here!"

Mac crossed his arms. "And who's fault is it that I ran off?"

"YOURS! I MEAN, SERIOUSL-Ow!" Mac kicked out with his leg.

"Shh! They don't know you're awake yet! Do you want them to know?" Terrence rubbed his now sore thigh ruefully. He cracked his knuckles menacingly.

"I'm only going to let you off just this once because I don't want to get caught. And where are those stinkin' kidnappers anyway? I thought they'd be guarding us in the back of the truck."

"They're alternating driving shifts. Two people sit in the front, and apparently the other two sit in the back seats. They check on us around every half-hour or so." Terrence quickly loosened the ropes around his ankles. Crawling over to Mac, he did the same.

"Thanks," Mac quickly responded, rubbing at his sore wrists. Terrence rolled his eyes.

"These guys have no idea how to tie knots."

"How do you know?"

"I'm currently taking a nautical class in college," Terrence responded sheepishly.

"What?" Mac blurted out bewildered. Terrence's face was now beet red from embarrassment.

"Shut up. And you're such a wimp; these were basic knots."

"Am not!"

"Are too!"

"Am-okay, this is getting us nowhere. We need to bust out of here before the kidnappers check up on us!" Mac whispered harshly in fear. Terrence rolled his eyes, then bracing his elbow, pointed it towards the door. Mac, realizing what he was going to do, suddenly interrupted.

"Wait, I've tried and it doesn't work-"

There was a loud crunch, and the doors flew open. Sunlight streamed in and poked at their eyes. As Mac winced and adjusted his vision, Terrence smirked.

"Like I said, you might be smart brother, but you're still a wimp."

"HEY! WHAT WAS THAT NOISE?" The muffled voice filtered in from the front.

"The doors! Hold the doors! They might see them from the side mirrors!" Mac hissed frantically. Terrence hurriedly scurried over and held the doors out of the mirrors' line of sight, trying his best not to fall from the bumpy ride.

"Dude, relax. You're panicking over nothin' I tell you. We probably rolled over a squirrel or someat thing."

"NO! It's the kids! They're escaping!"

"Aww don't be ridiculous. Like I said, we knocked the big guy out cold and the little one's a wimp." Terrence couldn't help but snigger softly, and Mac only shot him an annoyed look. "There ain't no way the kids can escape. See dose side mirrors? The doors aren't open or else we'd know."

"I want to check on the hostages _now."_

"Ur not evan da real boss," someone snorted. "An' besides, our last checkup was only five minutes ago."

"The boss assigned me to oversee this operation, so I have primary command. Do not forget your place. I will not tolerate such insolence from you again," the powerful voice repeated coolly. "I want to check on the hostages at the next exit." With a chill, Mac recognized the voice; it belonged to the man who had kidnapped him.

"Sheesh, all right. Whatever yah say, _boss_."

"Terrence! TERRENCE! We need to leave _now_!" Mac desperately shook Terrence's shoulders. Terrence snapped out of his daze.

"Fine, when I open the doors, we're going to jump. Okay? Mac?" When his younger brother didn't respond, Terrence looked over his shoulder. "Hey, what's the matter with you?" Mac's face was slightly green as he stared at the rushing road beneath them.

"Maybe this wasn't such a good idea."

Terrence stared at him incredulously.

"Oh, so _now_ you're chickening out. Chill, it's not like we're diving into a pool of sharks-"

"I'm _not _chickening out," Mac snapped. "I just don't know how to land. That's all."

"You do it like they do in the movies," Terrence explained patiently. Despite his fear, Mac could not resist the urge to roll his eyes.

"Of course. I totally didn't know that movie stunts work in real life."

"Yeah, they do," Terrence said confused. Mac opened his mouth to reply back, but the truck was about to enter an intersection. It was now or never.

"In three. One, two, THREE!" With a burst of speed, both boys jumped out of the truck and tumbled onto the road. Rolling into a nearby shrub, they both held their breaths, waiting for the truck to swerve, waiting for their captors to realize that they had escaped...

But the truck continued to speed away, oblivious to their escape. They sighed in relief as it disappeared over the horizon. and stood entranced under the blanket of merrily twinkling stars.

"I actually can't believe that worked." Snapping out of his disbelief, Mac dashed over to read the nearest road sign.

"Welcome to..._Zachary_? Who the heck names a city _Zachary_? Where in the world is that? Where are we?" Mac panicked. It finally seemed as if the absurdity of the day's events started taking a toll on his usually composed demeanor. "I don't suppose your phone has any battery life left, does it?" Terrence only shook his head absentmindedly, obviously preoccupied with another thought. Mac rummaged through his bag and cursed.

"My phone's dead, and I left my bus map at home. The sun sets in the West and rises in the East, but it's 9 PM at night. We don't have a compass or a GPS or a magnet or a-"

"MAC! Stop babbling and _focus_," Terrence interrupted calmly. He felt so weird for their roles to be switched around for once, with him keeping his head and Mac losing it completely.

"Focus? FOCUS?! What do you think I'm trying to do here?" Mac cried out. "We're miles away from home, stranded in who-knows-where, and you're not offering any ideas!"

"I don't need to," Terrence interrupted. "Because I've been here before with...dad." Terrence's voice cracked slightly at the end. Mac froze and held his breath, waiting for the explosion. After their dad passed away, there was an almost unspoken truce to never mention him _EVER_. Not unless he wanted Terrence to turn stony-faced and remarkably more defensively hostile.

But Terrence only patted the dust from his pants and trudged off in the opposite direction. Mac suddenly wanted to apologize for his rash comment, but the moment didn't seem right. Terrence might take his words as pity, and Mac knew that there was nothing else Terrence hated but pity. Mac clamped his mouth shut tightly, stewing over the best way to approach his brother.

"Come on, doofus. We can't stay here all day," Terrence broke in gruffly, his voice returning to normal.

"B-But TERRENCE! W-Where are you going?" Mac stammered. "Zachary is that way!"

Terrence cocked an eyebrow. "What does it look like, genius? Zachary is a few miles south from home. We need to go North. Follow the North Star."

* * *

><p>"I don't believe it! Are you <em>sure<em>?"

"Once again, I am quite positive, Master Blooregard. Master Mac did not give me any reason for why he was unable to come to Foster's yesterday. If he does not arrive today, you will placed up for adoption."

"WHAT?!" Bloo shrieked. "Mac would NEVER-"

"We had a deal, Master Blooregard, that if Master Mac did not come to visit you every day at precisely 3:00 PM, you would become eligible for adoption," Mr. Herriman interrupted. His gaze then softened to an expression of sympathetic pity. "I understand that you are in denial, but this is standard behavior exhibited by all creators. Yours is no exception."

"No, no, NO! Mac wouldn't, he said he'd come early yesterday for a prank...FRANKIE!" Bloo desperately called out to the woman passing by Herriman's open office. In his haste, he stumbled out and smacked his head onto the floor. Frankie looked in alarm at the sprawled figure.

"Wha-Bloo? Oh geez, are you okay?" Bloo quickly shook off his daze, and tugged at her skirt while babbling incoherently.

"Please, Frankie, you can't-he won't believe...Don't let him do this!"

"Who's doing what?" At this point, Mr. Herriman gravely hopped out of his office.

"Master Blooregard will be put up for adoption today in-*checks watch*-precisely 5 minutes if his creator does not show up in time." he stated grimly. Frankie threw him a flabbergasted look.

"WHAT?" she shouted. "Mac didn't stop by yesterday?"

"He was indeed absent."

"That doesn't sound like Mac," Frankie responded with a hint of worry. "Something must be up. In any case, I'm sure he'll will show up with a perfectly logical explanation."

"No can do, Ms. Frances. Master Mac has already broken the deal. Now, the time has come for the rules to be upheld-"

"Nuh-uh! Oh no, you don't!" Frankie snapped, hands on her hips. Bloo scurried away from Mr. Herriman and took refuge behind his defender, peering out with a frightened expression.

"Yes I can, and I will, Miss Frances."

"Oh, don't you 'Miss Frances' me, you furry hair ball! You've known Mac for 5 years, and he's never missed a day. Cut him some slack; he's in high school!" By now, a curious group of imaginary friends had gathered around to watch what the fuss was all about.

"Precisely my point, Miss Frances. The boy is in high school, and has clearly realized that he had no time to lollygag with his imaginary friend."

"...What did you say?" Frankie asked in a dangerously soft voice. Oblivious to the mood change, Mr. Herriman plowed through with blatant honesty.

"Why, Master Mac most likely did not wish to care for Master Blooregard any longer. After all, he probably views Master Blooregard as a burden and obstacle in his academic endeavors. Surely you can deduce that, Miss Frances?"

There was an shocked silence, only broken by Bloo's sporadic whimpers and sniffles. Frankie's expression was eerily stony-faced, and her eyes flashed an ominous, reptilic green.

"Now you listen closely, _rabbit,_" she hissed venomously. Mr. Herriman suddenly noticed her tone and gulped audibly. "You have the nerve to accuse not one, but _TWO_ long friends of ours. I don't know if you've been completely blind for the past 5 years, but Mac has _always_ stopped by daily to visit Bloo. Whenever he had time, he would even offer to clean up Bloo's messes, help with my chores, or even file _your_ paperwork! If there's one thing I've learned, he's clearly _responsible_."

"Now, see here, Ms. Frances-"

"NO! Don't you lecture me! And it's one thing to accuse Mac of simply abandoning Bloo without any explanation, but it's another to criticise Bloo for causing it!" Frankie suddenly exploded into a fiery rage that struck all the other imaginary spectators dumb at her wrath. "WHY DO YOU IMMEDIATELY JUMP TO THE WORST CONCLUSIONS? HOW CAN YOU BE SO CRUEL TO JUMP ON THE CHANCE TO OFFER HIM UP FOR ADOPTION?! Well TOO BAD! Bloo's not going to be adopted under my watch, you got that, FUR HEAD?!" Frankie finally stopped, heaving up and down heavily, sharp eyes piercing. After what seemed like an eternity, Mr. Herriman coughed a few times to regain his composure and lowered his voice softly.

"Miss Frances, my intention was not to speak ill of Master Mac nor of Master Blooregard."

"GET TO THE POINT!" Frankie snarled. Mr. Herriman, thankfully, continued on as if he had not heard her.

"Step into my shoes, if you will, Miss Frances. For the tens of years I have run this place, there had been no one who has ever returned for their imaginary friend," Mr. Herriman maintained a steady eye contact on Frankie. "Not even _one _single person. Now picture this unusual sight: five years ago, a boy shows up with Master Blooregard, and visits him every day. This is not a common occurrence, Miss Frances. And now, the boy suddenly breaks this tradition."

"You don't believe in Mac?"

"I have high faith in that child, Ms. Frances. But as head of Foster's, I prefer to believe the worst and be proven wrong, rather than provide false hope. Do I wish that all friends had not been neglected by their creators? Wholeheartedly yes. Do I deeply desire that none of these tragedies ever happened? Absolutely. But needless to say, how many times have these separations occurred? All but once. And as an authority who has to make delicate choices, I cannot blatantly ignore logic and experience for emotional preference, Ms. Frances," he said quietly.

Frankie's tidal wave of rage melted out into a harmless puddle as she stared back at her grandmother's imaginary friend. Mr. Herriman only showed emotion in rare occasions. Seeing his quiet, sad gaze only made her flush in embarrassment. Of course, Mr. Herriman would have more experience in this matter. Heck, he'd probably witnessed so many abandoned friends come and go that it became a grim daily routine for him. While Frankie reluctantly dropped her anger, she still conceded her point.

"I understand how you feel, Mr. Herriman," she said softly. "But you should still have more faith in Mac." Mr. Herriman lowered his hat.

"Fair point indeed, Ms. Frances. I will do so if he arrives today." Frankie glared at him, and he stuttered. "I-I-I mean _when_ he arrives, that is."

Suddenly, the door bell rang shrilly. Frankie grinned smugly and shot him a _I told you so_ look as she waltzed open the door.

"Hello, this is Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends, how can I-wait, are you all right?" Frankie looked alarmed at the stranger standing in front of her. She was a middle-aged woman with respectable curves and cherubic cheeks, and dressed crisply in formal black business attire. Her presence could only be described as coldly logical and dignified, but her lips suggested a naturally kind, comforting smile. But what was most striking was not only her desperate, blotchy expression, but her wide, worried brown eyes. _Wait a minute, Frankie had seen those eyes somewhere..._

"Excuse me, miss," the woman said in a shaky, yet firm voice. "H-Have you seen my sons? They went missing two days ago." For some unknown reason, the windy afternoon air felt colder, sending shudders up Frankie's spine.

"Um, what do your sons look like?" Frankie asked back kindly. The strange woman reached into her purse for her smart phone, and showed her photos of two children, one beaming happily and one scowling grumpily.

"This is my older son Terrence, 18 years old, and that's my younger son Mac, 13 years old. I-I went to the police and immediately reported them missing, but then I remembered that Terrence had always said Mac dropped by here several times before. I never believed him, but-please, I need to know-"

_The pictures, the kind brown eyes..._Everything suddenly clicked.

"Hold on, you're Mac's _mom_?" Frankie blurted out in alarm.

"How do you know Mac?" The woman looked up in disbelief.

"Hey. HEY! WHAT'S GOING ON HEreee..." Bloo's voice died as the woman snapped her gaze onto him.

"Bloo." She said quietly. It was more of a statement than an accusation, but Bloo felt the eyes of the woman prickle his skin. Even in times of sorrow and distress, the power of her calm composure was astounding. Bloo fought the urge to instinctively straighten his back and say, _"Yes, ma'm."_

"I...I live here," he said lamely. Mac's mother only responded with that stern brown-eyed stare he knew all too well; it was the exact same judgmental look Mac gave him when Bloo purposely blew up the Foster's toilets. _  
><em>

"Where's Mac?"

"I have no idea," he squeaked inaudibly, then swallowed and cleared his throat. "I mean, he never showed up yesterday or today. But Mac's okay though, right?" he asked fearfully. He braced himself for the explosion of fury to come.

"I don't know," Came the unexpected whisper. Caught by surprise, he whipped his head upwards to person who had caused Mac's visits all along, and to his alarm saw that the strong woman was now streaming silent tears down her cheeks, eyes radiating pure agony. Bloo had never seen Mac's mother cry before. He gaped openly at the silent tears cascading down her face. Even now in her state of weakness, it was clear that Mac's mother was restraining herself from weeping out openly, and the sight made the entire situation harder to bear. But if Bloo was completely lost for words, Frankie kept her senses intact in spite of the mother's grief.

"I think you should come in and tell us the whole story," Frankie said weakly.


	4. Chapter 4

**Author's note:**

**Yay random quick update! The next month might be a bit busy with finals, so chapter 5 might not be up for a while. Also, there might be minor swearing in this chapter, and I fretted over if it should be used...but I felt like it was in character. Hopefully. Possibly. It flowed well with mood of the text anyway. **

**To feeling nostalgia: Thank you. :) Sorry I didn't address you earlier. I just write for the heck of it, but it always gives me this fuzzy feeling when someone likes my stories! **

**To justapianogirl: One word: woah. I am super honored that you wrote me this long review, and it was likewise a pleasure to read. What's pretty ironic is that my college has a nautical class. To be honest, I randomly selected a name for the city (Zachary), but had no idea it was an actual city in Louisiana. But hooray at least I know where it is too. :) And agreed. Frankie is one awesome character. She will appear again in the story too (although the main plot will revolve more around Terrence). As for her importance to this story, well...can't spoil stuff, can I? ;) Finally to end this huge wall of text, I am curious too: I have no idea how to name Mac's mom, and it'll probably stay that way. Labeling her kind of makes me feel like I'm detracting from the series. D:**

**Again, a collective thanks to all favs, reviews, and support! Once again, I don't own FHFIF. **

**Hooray story time in 3...2...1...**

* * *

><p>Surprisingly the walk was quiet. Very few cars passed them, and the brothers were discreet enough to stay hidden in the shadows just in case their captors were circling the area. The dry air was cold however, and Terrence sighed, watching the puff of white escape and dissolve. The North Star kept twinkling ahead like a reassuringly travel guide. Suddenly at this point, he realized that the night was <em>too <em>quiet, devoid of the tiny pitter-patter of Mac's footsteps. Instantly he whipped around, expecting the worst-

And let out a breath of relief when he spotted Mac crouching on the ground a few feet away (not that he was relieved to see the doofus all right, mom would ground him if he was so much as scratched). Terrence felt anger rapidly replace worry and strode towards him, yanking him up from the ground.

"What the blazes do you think you're doing, Mac? We don't have time to waste!" Alarm struck him when he realized that Mac had tear tracks glistening down his face. Too late, the young teen was trying to wipe away his tears hastily with a sleeve.

"Are you _crying_?" He asked incredulously.

"No," Mac said stubbornly, pulling his arm out of his brother's rough grasp.

"Yeah, and I'm the President," Terrence said sarcastically. "People don't randomly cry for no reason. Spill."

"Drop it," Mac muttered. He tried to walk past him, but Terrence lunged forward and gripped his wrist. Suddenly Mac gave out a cry of pain. Terrence suddenly remembered that his wrist was injured and let go hastily.

"Are you trying to kill me?" Mac snapped back uncharacteristically, nursing his tender wrist. His posture was tense and defensive. Terrence opened his mouth to retort, but then remembered how Mac's wrist got injured in the first place. _If I hadn't twisted it, it might not have become worse._ For some stupid reason, he felt guilt flood him.

Terrence gritted his teeth. Since when did he start caring about how anyone felt? Why should he care about how Mac felt? His resolve hardened. Well screw guilt and screw Mac! Here goes nothing...

"I'm sorry," he grunted. Mac blinked, caught off-guard. In the entire history of wedgies and noogies, his brother had never apologized to him. _Ever_. Great, now Mac felt guilty too.

"No, I shouldn't snapped at you," Mac said softly. "Honestly, I'm fine. You just caught me by surprise." Terrence snorted disbelievingly.

"_Honestly, I'm fine_," Terrence mimicked in a high pitched voice. "Your wrist looks purple," he accused. Mac tried to hide it behind his back._  
><em>

"It's nothing! I-"

"Oh, stop being such a noble sap and bring it here," Terrence snapped. Mac reluctantly obeyed. His older brother examined it and poked it in a few places. Mac winced.

"It looks twisted, maybe sprained, but at least the bone's not broken. You might want to avoid straining it though. There-" Terrence took off his jacket and wrapped it around the wounded wrist. "That should do the trick until we get home." He turned around to spot Mac just gaping at him as if he had farted magical rainbows of happiness.

"Keep staring at me like that and I'll really snap your hand off for good," Terrence said casually. Mac hurriedly scrambled backwards, an uncertain look flickering through his eyes. For a second they landed on Terrence's watch and frowned. But then, Mac grinned and punched a surprised Terrence playfully with his uninjured hand.

"Go ahead. I'll still be a _handful_ of trouble," he replied cheekily before walking ahead. Terrence rubbed where he was punched numbly. He thought he'd feel angry and ready to pummel Mac back but...

Huh. That actually felt good in a strange sort of way. For the first time in so long, he felt this warm fuzzy feeling and got this ridiculous urge to smile. Gods he hadn't smiled since dad-

Terrence shook his head, baffled, and followed his brother down the never-ending path of glowing streetlights.

* * *

><p>"I have failed you.<p>

My idiotic companions let the hostages escape. But they haven't gone too far from Zachary.

...

Don't worry. The boy's as good as ours."

* * *

><p>Bloo dully stared outside the window. The sky looked cloudy, and rumbled ominously. Frankie's words earlier that morning didn't help quench his unease.<p>

_"That doesn't look promising, does it?" Frankie added, as she glanced outside worriedly at the black mass hanging above the city. "It looks like it's going to rain buckets today. The weather forecast predicted it."_

Mac was out there somewhere. And it frustrated Bloo to no end that he had no idea where on earth his buddy was. Suddenly he heard a scraping of a chair and someone plop down next to him. He whipped around, eager for any distractions.

"FRANKIE! You're done with your chores? Finally, I-" And his voice died right there. Because the "Frankie" he had addressed had startling brown hair. Mac's mother smiled wryly as Bloo stiffened up.

"Not whom you expected? Don't worry, Frankie's gone grocery shopping. She'll be back shortly." She then sighed, staring outside the window with vacant eyes. Bloo sat awkwardly in silence, internally debating whether or not to stay. He decided to leave, and was about to slide off his chair until he froze at her voice.

"While helping Frankie with her chores, I consoled many imaginary friends about their problems. Many of them seemed surprisingly content though," she faced Bloo, who jolted back into his seat guiltily. "Tell me, Bloo. Are you happy here?"

"Yeah, I guess. Madam Foster tries to do everything for everyone, and Frankie makes sure none of us feel left out..." She then fixed him with that piercing brown-eyed stare he knew too well. Abruptly she addressed him softly.

"Do you love Mac, Bloo?" Bloo's head snapped up in shock. Of all the questions he expected her to ask, that was one he had never anticipated.

"I-I do. I mean I love him like a friend. Like a brother," he replied honestly. "We do a lot of crazy fun stuff together, and although he's such a goodie-two-shoes, there'd be no one else I would trade to be my creator." She closed her eyes.

"I'm so sorry, Bloo, that I kicked you out of the house. I regret how I tore you two apart without taking your feelings, or even Mac's into consideration."

"That's okay! I-"

"But I do not regret my decision of sending you away." Bloo's voice died in shock. Mac's mother continued as if he hadn't stopped. "It eases my troubled mind that you feel happy here at Foster's. I am even more grateful that you've stayed a true, loyal friend to Mac."

"Wait, but-"

"But Mac won't be a child forever, Bloo," she whispered urgently, gently holding Bloo's hands and squeezing them reassuringly. "Trust me, this decision is still so hard for me after all these years, especially when you helped Mac heal from the loss of his father. The truth hurts, but you have to face the pain like I did. Please, Bloo; he might not trust me, but he'll listen to you."

Bloo was stuck at a loss for words staring into those desperate, beseeching brown orbs.

"Please set my son free."

* * *

><p>Dawn arose ahead, painting magical beams of royal red and purple into the sky just as the North Star faded into oblivion. Right beyond the skylines, Terrence squinted with hazy eyes.<p>

"Hey." He shook Mac's shoulders. Mac looked up groggily. "We're here."

Mac grinned happily in response, making Terrence chuckle softly. "Come on, let's go home."

Suddenly Terrence spotted movement in the corner of his eye, but lack of sleep and weariness made him slow. He grunted as a fist slammed into his face and he collided onto ground. He vaguely registered Mac shouting his name frantically, and worriedly crouching down next to him to check he was fine. Terrence gritted his teeth in pain. _What on earth was Mac doing? Run you idiot, they're after you_! Sadly, all that came out of his mouth was an incoherent grunt, and Mac unfortunately did not understand incoherent grunt.

"You're not going anywhere," a cool voice stated, flanked by several other threatening men. The figure looked amused. "I admit, you two were much more stubborn than I thought. But forgive me if I didn't trust my cohorts." He raised a device which was flashing a red light. It looked strangely familiar, although Terrence was sure he had never seen it before...

"A tracking device," Mac said quietly. Terrence jolted out of his brooding thoughts as the figure laughed.

"Very clever, Mac. When we knocked your brother unconscious, we added this little bug onto his watch. On your right wrist," he clarified when Terrence looked confused. "My partners in crime thought I was paranoid, but I slipped it on anyway. All the better luck for me."

"What kind of sicko purposely stalks two teens and kidnaps them in the middle of day?" Terrence snapped despite growing dread. The figure grinned.

"Careful Terrence. Dr. F only needs your brother right now. I could easily summon one of my goons to punish you without restraint."

"Get the Fuck away from my brother," Terrence growled. The figure sighed and snapped his fingers. Suddenly pain exploded in his aching vision and he instinctively raised an arm feebly to fend off his attacker.

"No! Stop it! STOP IT!" Mac yelled fearfully, tugging weakly at Terrence's attacker. "You're going to kill him! Stop-!" A resounding crack filled the air, and Mac fell limply to the ground with a thud. He made no move to stir.

"Oops," the goon said innocently. "Accident." They all guffawed. Terrence felt rage boil inside his gut. He tensed up, shaking from anger as he spotted his brother's prone form. He was so angry he felt like the anger would consume his heart in a raging fire and explode if he didn't do anything...

"Idiot," the leader hissed. "We need him alive!" The goon lifted Mac up easily like a kitten and shrugged. "No permanent damage done, boss. Just knocked him out-" And that was when the goon crashed into the brick wall like he was yanked on a puppet string. Rocks and bricks fell, and men yelled, coughing. When the dust cleared, the leader, eyes stinging from the dirt, spotted Terrence running off awkwardly with Mac on his back.

"After them!"

The men charged forward. Terrence chanced a look back to see the men closing in on him fast; he was officially between a rock and a hard spot. Terrence was faster with football practice, but Mac was weighing him down.

"I don't suppose you have any good ideas, now that I'm saving your neck and all, huh?" He asked his brother hopefully. Mac didn't respond. Great. He was alone with an unconscious 13 year old on his back. Panic started to settle in. Terrence breathed in and out like he did before every football game to calm his nerves. _Okay, no sweat, Terrence, just run away from that group of bloodthirsty men wanting to kidnap your brother and slit your throat. No pressure._

The local river gurgled next to him. Hastily, he started to run over the bridge, but skidded to a stop when men appeared on the other side. Terrence swerved around to escape, but the men chasing him from behind had closed in. He was cornered. The goons did not look happy. The boss emerged from them looking officially pissed off (Terrence couldn't help but smirk at his disheveled hair and flushed face. Athletic much?).

"This is the last straw. I might even let you live," the boss threatened. "Hand over the boy _now_."

"Over my dead body," Terrence spat. The man's face closed off at his rebellious response, eyes becoming like twin pits of black fire.

"Your persistence is becoming rather annoying," the imposing leader said coldly. "I was going to let you live...but I don't think that'll be the case. Boys,"-he gestured at the goons-"I give you free rein."

Immediately, the goons roared and charged forward. Terrence, biting down his helplessness, gently set Mac behind him, and began to fight. Punch, dodge, kick, uppercut, dodge, dodge again...Surprisingly, he made excellent progress, man after man falling to the ground. Adrenaline and desperation charged up his power and pain tolerance as he ignored his screaming muscles and bruises. Finally, he whipped around to defend himself from more attackers, but then realized that all the goons were defeated. The fallen men lay on the ground like broken straws, groaning pitifully. Sighing in relief he turned to his brother...only to find that Mac was no longer sitting on the bridge. An ominous click made him turn around in alarm. The boss was gripping a still unconscious Mac around the torso with one arm, the other arm armed with a weird sort of gun.

"Goodbye, boy," he said softly before pressing the trigger. Terrence tried to avoid it, but the gun seemed to pulse out a fan of energy instead of a bullet. It knocked the wind out of his lungs, his knees shook uncontrollably, and then...

Terrence fell off the bridge into the raging water.


	5. Chapter 5

**Author's note:**

**Okay I lied. I miraculously found time to work on this (Hooray). I actually finished up the next few chapters, but FF erased them because the internet crashed before they could be saved. -_- It might be a hassle, but I'm doing my best to rewrite what was lost. Ahhh curse you weak Wifi network!**

**I'm changing the rating here to T just in case for future cursing. I'm not sure if it's necessary, but better safe than sorry...**

**To It'sJustAKindOfMagic: Hooray another review! Thank you for the praise. :) I actually thought I was overdoing the "brotherly love" between Terrence and Mac. Terrence is such a hard character to write! He strikes me as a "I'm a manly tough guy" and "feelings are for wimps" sort of person than someone who's more like "I love flowers and siblings and wheeee." Unfortunately, my writing style is categorized in the sentimental side, so it takes me some effort to write his character. I just hope I'm doing it right haha**

**And is it just me, or would Frankie make an awesome older sister?**

**Readers, thank you for your collective support! ****I don't own FHFIF.**

* * *

><p>A harsh cold feeling ripped through his gut.<p>

Gasping, Terrence stayed afloat for a second, only to be dragged back down by the water. His body felt heavy, and the his body tumbled through the raging currents. Direction held no meaning: Up was down, left was right, and everything spun spun spun...he felt his lungs give way, the precious air bubbles escaping in a fatal sigh...

Next moment, he lay shuddering on the concrete ground. Weakly dragging himself to the edge, he retched, heaving out water through his mouth. A pair of damp sneakers squeaked over to his side.

"Oh geez, are you okay?" Terrence coughed a few more times, and felt a hand roughly pat his back. Wiping his mouth on his sleeve, he glanced up to a face of shocking red hair. Realization struck both parties.

"Wait, you're-"

"Terrence?" Frankie Foster sputtered, dropping her grocery bags that she had just picked back up. Her hair and clothes were also sopping wet. "What on earth are you doing here? Do you know how much your mom's worrying over you and Mac?"

Terrence ignored her, only opting to run back up the river. Bewildered, Frankie stood slack-jawed before picking up her groceries and running off after him.

"Terrence? TERRENCE!"

He quickly arrived at the bridge in high trepidation. His worst fears were confirmed. The man who had shot him was gone with his brother. Even the goons had vanished. There was nothing left. He swore and ripped his watch from his wrist, tossing it angrily into the river. Angrily, he kicked the wall furiously with his foot. It did nothing but cause a jolt of pain to travel up his leg, and he swore profusely again. Frankie finally caught up.

"...Terrence, what the heck is going on?"

"I DON'T KNOW!" he howled in frustration. He raised a fist to punch the abused wall, but Frankie yanked his arm back.

"Look, I walked by to buy some groceries, and the next thing I know, you're literally drowning in the local river! Then you run off without saying anything after I saved your scrawny ass. I think I deserve an explanation," she demanded angrily. Her anger brought Terrence back down to Earth.

"Mac's gone," he said bluntly. Frankie gaped.

"What? He's not-"

"He's not dead. Or at least he wasn't," Terrence said bitterly. "Some guy sicced a bunch of men to kidnap us. We escaped from their van, but they caught up with us a few minutes ago. They took Mac," he added hoarsely. "I tried to stop them, but they knocked me into the river." Frankie looked horrified. He grip on his arm tightened instinctively, and he winced. That woman had one heck of an iron grip.

"Do you know who took him?"

Terrence shrugged helplessly. "All I know is that some guy called Dr. F had wanted him specifically. I don't know why." He shivered. With his rage burnt out, he felt the chill from his damp clothes. Frankie seemed to notice, and her eyes softened a fraction.

"Come on, let's go to the Home. Your mom will be so relieved when we tell her you're safe." He suddenly gripped her shoulder as she turned. Frankie raised an eyebrow, ready to tell him off before he sputtered.

"Don't."

Frankie stared aghast. "You're kidding me."

"Don't tell my mom yet. Maybe everyone else, but not my mom."

"Do you know how distraught she is? I sometimes see her break down when she thinks no one's watching. With the two of you gone, she's literally a nervous wreck!"

Terrence's voice quavered slightly, but stayed firm. "No. I can't let her know that Mac's missing. I can't-I just don't think I can stand her knowing. Please, Frankie...until we find Mac?"

She looked into his pleading gaze then sighed. "Fine. But when this is all over, you'd better explain this all to your mother in person."

* * *

><p>Mac woke up.<p>

White ceiling tiles greeted his vision, and imposing, solid cage bars surrounded him. He leaped from the floor, quickly scanning his surroundings. The entire room including his cage was a brilliant, blinding white. Too clean. Too pure. It made him nervous. Suddenly, he realized that there was a metal sort of collar around his neck. Tentatively, he raised a finger to feel it. It was alien and cool to the touch.

"I see you're finally awake."

His brown orbs snapped over to his kidnapper in shock. He was scowling darkly, and Mac noticed tiny scratches covering his arms and face. The man leaned over and forcefully yanked Mac up with his shirt, slamming him none-too-gently against the bars.

"Your _brother_ put up more resistance than we thought," he breathed down dangerously into his ear, making the boy flinch. "Too much trouble just to reach you. But don't worry, I'll swear I'll pay it all back to you, boy-"

"Kip."

The kidnapper stiffened and reluctantly released his grip. Mac fell to the floor unceremoniously in shock as a second stranger dressed in a lab coat entered the room. _Kip? Wait, then could it possibly be...?_

"Kip Snip?" Mac said in astonishment. His kidnapper looked almost unrecognizable in grungy clothes, his usually clean blonde hair a grungy dull gold. Kip scowled.

"The one and only, kid. After your little interference completely wrecked my career, I couldn't find a job in any producing company thanks to you. So afterwards I decided to break out of prison and become hired as a mercenary." He leered unpleasantly. "I have to admit, this job's paying me pretty well..."

"Splendid! It saves me the trouble of introducing yourselves if you already know each other!" Looking up, Mac realized that the scientist was now examining him curiously like a bug impaled by a surgical needle.

"Are you sure you're not lying, Kip, when you say that he is the one? You know that my other test subjects have failed." Kip grunted in affirmation. Mac didn't want to know what happened to the other test subjects. The way that scientist stared at him like an extinct dodo bird was rather unnerving.

"Who are you?" Mac asked warily.

"Ahh, you can just call me Dr. F, Mac." Mac jolted at the use of his own name, and the scientist chuckled. "Yes, I know your name. And your brother's. I know everything about you, where you live, how your father died. There are no secrets between us, Mac."

Mac said nothing, but felt the dread creep up his limbs.

"H-How?" He croaked. The scientist waved his question aside.

"Silly boy! You don't need to know that! But Kip here has been helping me keep tabs on you. How often you travel to Foster's...it was so convenient! Easily predictable. We planned a month ahead for your capture." His face suddenly fell darkly. "But then Kip almost failed when your brother interfered. Not only that, you then escaped together...what a mess it could have caused..."

Mac was surprised to see the mercenary blanch. Kip's face suddenly shone with sweat.

"But he succeeded in the end. Got rid of your pesky brother. No witnesses! Right Kip?" Dr. F abruptly perked up with that unnerving smile back on his face. Kip chuckled nervously.

"Of course I did. I didn't go through all this blasted trouble to kidnap the wrong kid, Doctor."

Mac felt sick. "Terrence? What did you do with Terrence?" he yelled frantically. The scientist rolled his eyes.

"I think our test subject is asking too many ridiculous questions. Kip, if you will-"

"My pleasure," Kip gritted with a sick smile as he smashed his thumb on the red button on a device. Suddenly, pain exploded in his vision. His nerves were burning, screaming out in pain...maybe he was screaming...he heard a disgusting cackle somewhere...

Then it stopped. Limply, he fell to the floor, feeling his entire body throb. Horrified, he heard crackling, and realized that his collar was sparking.

"Now, now, Kip, we can't have too much fun yet. Not now, at least," Dr. F admonished. Kip's unpleasant smirk only grew. Mac gazed helplessly into the scientist's cold blue eyes.

"I've waited so long for this moment," Dr. F whispered, looking quite deranged. He took out a needle containing an ominous purple fluid. "And now my experiment will be complete soon...!"

* * *

><p>Terrence watched the grandfather clock tick quietly. The flames in the foyer danced merrily, but the atmosphere was too cold, too damp. Terrence had explained the entire story, and was now huddled up in a blanket in front of the fire. There was a clink of china. Madame Foster sighed, setting her empty tea cup onto the table.<p>

"I'm can't believe that something this awful happened to you," she said softly. Terrence ignored her; the only response he gave to her was a subtle tightening of his grip on the blanket. He was relieved when Frankie finally entered carrying a jug of hot milk and packets of honey.

"I'm sorry for being late. She...," Frankie hesitated. "She couldn't sleep..." Terrence felt a twinge of guilt, but hardened his resolve. He wasn't ready to face his mother now. Not yet, at least. Frankie threw him a look.

"She isn't stupid you know. Your mom's going to find out one way or another."

"Then we'll just have to find Mac before she does." Frankie looked frustrated.

"Terrence, it isn't that simple. We don't know where your brother is, much less who kidnapped him and why. There was no evidence left on the scene. The only thing we actually have in our hands is your word that this "Dr. F" exists and planned the entire operation. Whoever the kidnappers were, they were good; they left no trail we can follow." Terrence only scowled, his piercing glare boring a hole into the floor. Madame Foster looked thoughtful.

"I wonder..."

She walked over to the newspaper pile. Selecting several choice articles, Madame Foster dumped them onto the table. Frankie immediately picked one up and began to read.

"Is your car broken down? Need a cheap alternative? Buy the Scootie Scooter today-grandma! What does this have to do with what we're talking about?" Madame Foster merely redirected her gaze to the bottom of the page with a finger.

"Jennifer Shaun, age 14, missing." Frankie frowned. "George Smith, age 15, missing." She quickly snatched article after article.

"Angel Williams, age 14, missing-"

"Harry Orple, age 13, missing- "

"Dennis Francs, age 14, missing-"

"Cassidie Dorielle, age 15, missing-"

Terrence looked annoyed. "So? They're just a bunch of dumb kids who went missing." Frankie shook her head, eyes fixed on the papers.

"No, it's looks a more serious than that. Coincidentally all the children were in their early teenage years. Each one also went missing without a trace. No witnesses, no evidence. Months later, the children were found alive in random locations, but they were found to be completely driven insane."

"Poor things...I just visited them at the local hospital last week," Madame Foster said quietly. "There was little we could pry from them. But they all talked about one man in common." Madame Foster hesitated before looking regretfully at Terrence.

"A scientist by the name of Dr. F."

* * *

><p>Bloo couldn't sleep.<p>

Whenever he passed by, all the imaginary friends would whisper, then flash him a gaze of pity. He was so tired, so sick of their looks of sympathy.

_Just leave me alone!_ he had screamed angrily this afternoon, and they all scrammed. But eyes still peeked behind corners, doors, and windows. Wilt had tried to distract Bloo by playing basketball together, and Eduardo would bring him to the fields to pick flowers to cheer him up. Coco even snuggled next to him as he slept, offering her warmth and company to drive away nightmares. But when he had exploded that afternoon, his friends had unfortunately happened to be there at the wrong place, wrong time. Eduardo had run off crying, Wilt had thrown him a hurt look before following Ed, and Coco had snapped back a retort before leaving in a huff.

Bloo had eventually decided to settle in early for the night. Unfortunately, that particular plan wasn't going too well either; he was afraid of the nightmares. He couldn't bear to see Wilt's hurt face, his creator's mom weeping for the hundredth time...

_Mac glared at him with hatred. "Why weren't you there, Bloo? Where were you when I needed you?"_

_"I'm so sorry, Mac. I didn't know!"_

_"Maybe I mean nothing to you."_

_"No! No you don't, please Mac, please come back-"_

_Mac had suddenly fallen to the ground like a marionette with its strings snapped, bleeding from hidden wounds. Horrified, Bloo had leaped forward in time to catch his fallen creator._

_"Bloo?" Mac whispered._

_"Yeah, it's me, buddy, it's okay-"_

_"Can you do me a-a favor?" He coughed up blood. Bloo nodded vigorously._

_"Anything." Mac latched his brown eyes onto his, then his eyes turned into his mother's hazel orbs._

_"Please set me free..." _

Bloo woke up abruptly. Realizing that it was a dream, he yanked his pillow and threw it against the wall, then sobbed in a fit of frustration.

_I'm sorry, Mac...I can't..._


	6. Chapter 6

**Author's Note (A really long one sorry):**

**Ugh I don't like to use OC's (unless if I planned the story that way), but try as I might, I couldn't avoid the inevitable. With Thanksgiving Eve here I was like "Well, I did already write the chapter..." so I decided to ****post it and save you guys the trouble of waiting a full week...except this one is more of a cliffhanger. I LIKE BUILDING UP THE SUSPENSE MWAHAHA**

**Other Good News: I was finally able to rewrite what was lost, so yes, I finished writing the rest of the story (maybe except for the epilogue..?). Rest assured that there is no way that I'll suddenly start on another fic before finishing this one ( _Trapped_ cough cough writer's block T_T). THE AGONIZING PAIN OF WAITING**

**I'm evil. Deal with it. **

**A warning for swearing in this chapter...And lots of character pain which I enjoy writing about...What is wrong with me?**

**To feeling nostalgia: I actually had no idea who Mrs. Coulter was (so unfortunately I cannot address your first point). But yes, you're right. There are a lot of stories where Mac has to struggle with keeping Bloo or leaving him behind (Brownie points to you!), but since this story is more focused on Mac and Terrence's sibling relationship, I'm debating whether or not to cover that aspect here.**

**To justapianistgirl: I happened to choose Kip because (1) he's not an OC and (2) it fit in well enough with the story (the uneven ends should be smoothened out before the very end). But yeah, hooray for good old-fashioned doses of stereotypical revenge! :D**

**Tom is an OC (wow creative name I know). Treat Dr. F the same way unless specified. These character(s) should be the only OC's used in this story. Again, you guys continue being awesome. Thank you always for the views, favorites, and follows! Your reviews also put a nice grin on my face. :) Keep at it!**

**I don't own FHFIF**

* * *

><p>Their eyes stared at nothing, yet he felt like they were watching him. Terrence shuddered as he saw one teenage boy trying to bash his head against the wall repeatedly, the nurses trying to pull him away. Another girl was innocently drawing a picture of a cat while warbling an eerie incomprehensible song. He had no doubt that these children were insane. Even Frankie looked slightly nervous, and she tried not to stare at these disturbed children. However, Madame Foster only responded with a sad smile. She crossed over to a certain hospital bed where a blond-haired boy sat, fitting a set of puzzle pieces together.<p>

"Why are we here?" Terrence whispered, clearly uncomfortable. Madame Foster waddled over to the blonde.

"Hello, Tom." To their surprise, the blonde, noticing them, nodded and returned back to his puzzle pieces. Terrence must have looked confused, because Madame Foster had chuckled sadly and explained.

"Tom was an orphan who was kidnapped five months ago. He was missing for three days before he was found. He's quite mentally stable, but the trauma rendered him mute. I've been visiting him every week to help him get used to speaking again. Isn't that right, dearie?" Tom nodded enthusiastically, giving a genuine smile as Madame Foster ruffled his hair affectionately. Madame Foster noticed Terrence's stony look.

"Tom, our visit today is pretty serious. Terrence's brother was kidnapped two weeks ago." Tom shot off a series of hand gestures anxiously. Madame Foster nodded, and Tom looked at Terrence sadly.

"We need you to remember what Dr. F is doing, or where he is." Tom hugged himself. Madame Foster gently patted him on the back.

"It's all right. Take all the time you need," she said softly. Tom shuddered, and shook his head violently in denial. Frankie desperately put in her plea.

"Please, Tim. I know it's hard, but try to remember." Tom only responded by buried his head in his knees. For several minutes, the two women tried their best to encourage the blonde out of his shell, but as soothing as their voices were, all of their efforts met with failure. Finally, Terrence had enough.

"Can you speed up remembering stuff?" He snapped. Tom looked up in shock.

"Terrence," Frankie whispered, looking scandalized. He ignored her.

"We don't have all the time in the world! Mac's already been gone for two weeks, and the last time he felt alone, he didn't handle it too well! And now, he could be..." A stupid lump formed in his throat at the memory of his brother alone and crying in the dark when his father died. He abruptly turned away, feeling a mixture of boiling embarrassment and self-disgust. _Stupid random feelings. You might as well start bawling like a baby right here, right now._

"Nevermind," he muttered. "We're wasting time. I'm leaving."

He stiffly walked away. Suddenly he felt a force hugging his midsection. Tom looked up with a sympathetic expression, and Terrence rolled his eyes. For some reason he couldn't bring himself to yell at the younger boy. _Maybe I'm getting a little too soft. _he shuddered at the thought.

"Yeah, I'm fine, kid," he grunted. "You can go back to doing whatever." Tom hesitated. He opened his mouth only to clamp down nervously, wringing his hands. Then he yanked the surprised Terrence closer, and standing on tip-toes, whispered in a croaky voice.

"35th."

"What?" Terrence asked confused. But Tom was now rocking back and forth on the bed, gasping something under his breath in an incomprehensible string of words. The nurse hastened forth.

"I apologize, but I think that you should leave and visit Tom at another time," she interrupted in a firm, authoritative voice. Having nothing else to say, the group of three left, Madame Foster patting Tom gently on the back and whispering "_Thank you_" before exiting the room. They found themselves standing at a crosswalk, waiting for the signal to turn green to cross the road.

"Great. After all that we learned nothing," Terrence finally broke out sarcastically.

"We're even lucky that Tom decided to talk to you, Terrence. He could've easily become offended and refuse to tell us anything after your outburst," Frankie pointed out.

"Well, I don't give a fu-!"

"Terrence!" Frankie barked. "What the hell! We're struggling to get all the help we need, and you trying to antagonize everybody isn't exactly helping!" Terrence whipped around furiously.

"I don't have time for this," he growled dangerously. "Mac's been missing for _two__ weeks_, Frankie. Two. Frickin'. WEEKS."

"You know we couldn't help that! Madame Foster had to go underground and get both of us special visitor passes to access that wing because it's so highly protected! If it weren't for her, it would've taken us double the time!"

"Tom's barely been kidnapped for three days, and look at him! He's mute! Mac might as well be dead for all we know!" Terrence angrily kicked a pebble onto the road. Frankie averted her eyes and gloomily stared across at the Street signs.

"All Tom told me was "35th." What the hell is "35th" supposed to mean? That it was the 35th time he met an asshole like me? That it was the 35th time he ever talked? That Mac was the 35th victim?" Realization suddenly hit Frankie.

"Wait...35th?"

"Yeah," Terrence grumbled. "Useless, huh?" Frankie snapped her fingers excitedly.

"NO! Tom was being helpful! He was referring to the street name! 35th Street! That street is filled with housing communities, but the only interesting building big and secure enough to hide from government surveillance is the astronomy tower!" Terrrence looked dumbstruck at Frankie's determined grin.

"And I bet that's where we can find Dr. F."

* * *

><p>It hurt.<p>

His head hurt. Everything hurt.

He saw them everyday. Faces and feelings swam in and out. Bloo cackling cruelly at him, the bullies beating him up at the playground, even his brother leering and cracking his knuckles.

He relived his father's death, saw his father push him out of the way of an incoming car only to get hit instead. He was so young when it happened, but the pain still felt as fresh as yesterday. The painful sickening crunch, a terrible metallic screech, blood everywhere...and the memories hit him over and over and over...

He felt the stabbing electricity course through his veins, gritted his teeth against the numb pain and held in the screams. Pain would drag him gasping out of his reverie, and vaguely he registered a needle stabbing him again before submerging him under into another nightmare. What was real and what was not? He couldn't tell.

Strands of brown hair entered his vision. "Mom!" He cried out, but she stiffly walked away without noticing him...

Bloo's face swam in his tortured mind, and desperately tried grasping for it...

"Help me, Bloo," he pleaded, but the image vanished as quickly as it appeared...

Then Terrence re-appeared, pointing at the North star, mouthing words he could not hear...he squeezed his injured wrist reassuringly while wrapping it in his leather jacket. Mac tightly gripped his hand back, clinging on desperately onto his last shreds of sanity...

* * *

><p>Kip watched the boy twitch and spasm in the cage with sadistic pleasure. It was a wonder how the boy had not yet snapped completely like the others; perhaps the doctor was right. All the others were no fun; they broke easily, started babbling for their mothers, sobbing in a deranged fashion within a few days. This one might have been a wimp, but he was still holding out after two weeks. It was rather impressive, he admitted.<p>

Dr. F would on the contrary look more positively radiant than disappointed as the mental resistance continued.

"How curious!" He would babble eagerly in that mad passionate grin, before stabbing the boy again with the needle and injecting the nightmarish fluid. Everyday, the dose was increased, the chemical more frequently administered.

Kip shuddered. Contrary to the fact, Kip feared the doctor. Dr. F was the most erotic customer he had worked for. Too unpredictable, yet so organized in his madness. The doctor was a paradox in himself, and he had no desire to find out what would happen when he was angered. _Maybe it was a far-fetched idea to join him..._

"One more dose ought to do the trick! Once I brew it in my lab right now, I might even be able to start taking over the city this very evening!" Snapping back into reality, Kip registered the mad doctor now muttering calculations under his breath, entirely oblivious to the whimpers of the tortured boy in front of him. Dr. F was completely wack-loony and overdramatic, but he had to give him credit for his brilliance. Of course, Kip loved power and money much more than he would have liked to admit...

"Oh, and I think that's long enough; snap him out of it," Dr. F said impatiently, gesturing to Mac. We don't want him to be driven insane completely before the final test!"

_But then again,_ Kip reasoned as he smashed the red button ruthlessly, forcing another cry of pain from the hated boy. _He wouldn't have liked it any other way._

* * *

><p>Frankie drove the bus uncomfortably. It was completely silent, with no one speaking a word. Glancing in the rearview mirror, she spotted Terrence looking out the window, gripping the front seat so hard that his knuckles were going white.<p>

"Terrence, I don't understand," she said bluntly.

"...What?" he muttered back defensively. She kept her eyes on the road.

"For several years I know you bullied Mac without even batting an eye. He would sometimes stay at Foster's and come home late because he wanted to avoid you...Did you know that? And now you're suddenly acting like you care about him."

"My mom would kill me if I returned without Mac."

Frankie scowled. "That's not what I mean, Terrence. I know all siblings look out for each other in their own way, but your personality shift is just... _dramatic. _I can't explain it. You could've yelled at Tom to fuck off when he hugged you, but you didn't. You could've easily told me to to bugger off when I rescued you, but again you didn't. Why are you acting so _different _all of the sudden?"

He scowled back. "What, do you want me to go all sappy and start talking about my feelings, huh? Do you want me to open up about how annoying Bloo is? How annoying Mac was before our dad-?" Terrence suddenly choked up, stunned at what he had just blurted out. No one said a word, and Frankie held on with baited breath, waiting for Terrence to speak. After several minutes of silence, she was about to give up when Terrence abruptly spoke.

"I was eight and Mac was three when it happened. We were going to the park to play...

_Terrence shouted with joy as he ran across the crosswalk before the pedestrian sign turned red. He turned around and stuck out his tongue at his younger brother, who was standing with his father across the road._

_"Hah! I made it to the other side before you did!" Terrence bragged. Mac only laughed smugly._

_"Dad and I are going to catch up to you~" his younger brother sang out mischievously. Their father ruffled Mac's hair and sighed disapprovingly at Terrence across the street._

_"Terrence, don't run off alone like that. When we're out and about, we need ta stick together." _

_Terrence pouted then gave in. __"Oh, Okaaay." The pedestrian light flashed green, and Mac giggled as he hopped across with his father. Terrence impatiently waited for the two to cross the road._

_"See, Terrence? We're catching up to you!" Mac chattered excitedly. " I bet you can't catch me today when we play tag!"_

_"Oh yeah? You're way too slow for that!" Mac stuck out his tongue in response before darting ahead the last few feet to reach the sidewalk..._

_Then everything went wrong._

_His father had noticed a car speeding down the wrong side of the lane in horror. Whoever the driver was, he had ignored the red light and was racing down the street towards the crosswalk where Mac was running. _

_"Mac!" The giggling boy halted and turned around confused at his father's sharp cry. Suddenly, Terrence could only watch in fascinated horror as his father suddenly raced forward into the line of fire and scooped up his youngest son before pushing him roughly onto the sidewalk. There was a sickening crash of metal hitting flesh and bone._

_Terrence turned away suddenly nauseous. This was a horrible nightmare, a horrible one and he'll wake up soon...Mac sat dumbly on the sidewalk gazing stupidly at the gruesome scene before him. Their mother hurried onto scene from home shortly after they moved the body to the hospital, hugging both of her sons to her chest and whispering reassurances and frantic prayers. Even now he remembered her rose perfume, her comforting hand soothingly running through his messy black hair..._

_The police came by later to their house to deliver the news. His father was officially dead. __Drunk driver, They said. It was quick, They said. He reacted with anger, punching his pillow and screaming profanities no eight-year-old should know. His mother collapsed lifelessly onto the kitchen counter, gazing at nothing. And Mac..._

_"Terrence," he squeaked, grabbing his older brother's hand. "Dad's going to be all right, isn't he?" As if it burned like fire, Terrence slapped his hand away._

_"No! Go away! It's your fault he died, you jerk!" he yelled bitterly at his brother's shocked face. How he utterly despised his brother...if Mac didn't tag along his father would be still alive-!_

"I guess it was kind of stupid for me to blame Mac for his death. We all changed after our father died, but Mac was never the same after that," Terrence mumbled. "He used to be more like Bloo-an annoying chatterbox who wouldn't shut up. But then he clamped up. He started keeping secrets to himself and grew lonely. He's gotten a lot better after Bloo was created, but ever since we've just had a bitter history," he finished uncomfortably. He closed his eyes, waiting for the wave of pity and anger to fall. But it didn't.

"Thank you, Terrence," Frankie said softly. "If anything we don't blame you. You acted understandably at that age."

"We're not leaving until we get you back home safe and sound." Madame Foster locked her green orbs firmly onto his. "_Both _of you."

The bus fell to silence again as the stars begin to stir in the cloak of night.


	7. Chapter 7

**Author's Note:**

**Woot! Over 700 views! ****My finals begin this week, so I posted this chapter today. The next update should take around 2 weeks. Chapter 8 should be the climax of the story.**

**Happy December 1st. :) ****  
><strong>

**I do not own Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends.**

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><p>She opened the door with the spare key, shrugging her coat off before hanging it on the hook.<p>

"Miss Frankie? Madame Foster?"

No one answered to her calls, although a few friends gave her a curious look before hurrying off to their destinations. Fluffer Nutter stopped by and tapped her on the knee to grab her attention.

"Um...I don't think they're here," Fluffer Nutter said shyly. "I can go and get Wilt, he probably might know." The business woman sighed before ruffling the friend's hair in gratitude.

"Thank you." The pink squirrel scurried off. The business woman decided to make herself useful by running off to the laundry room, knowing that Frankie was always so overworked. Plus the extra work kept her mind off of her two missing sons...

Wilt arrived with his squeaky basketball shoes and trademark grin. "Oh, Mac's mom! Hi, I'm Wilt!" She would have been preoccupied with how tall the friend was if his words hadn't hit her straight in the heart.

_Mac's mom._

_Mac and Terrence's mom._

_I hope they're safe...but it's been too long...too long without them._

"I'm sorry, uh, did you need anything?" She snapped out of her thoughts.

"I was wondering if you could tell me the current whereabouts of Miss and Madame Foster," she replied absentmindedly. Wilt frowned in concentration.

"Well, I know Madame Foster and Frankie went to the hospital earlier in the afternoon...they didn't say why...Huh, that's strange, they should be back by now..."

"Are they fine?" She blurted out in worry. Wilt flashed her a reassuring smile.

"Don't worry, Miss! Frankie is a very skilled driver. They probably stopped by to meet Madame Foster's friends or got held back by traffic! It's okay, it happens all the time!" Wilt suddenly looked sheepish. "Uh, but there is one thing I want to ask a favor of if it's okay..."

* * *

><p>"We're here." Frankie said cautiously. Before them, the astronomy tower loomed like a dark shadow. Only the first floor, which flickered ominously, and the very top floor seemed have have any light.<p>

"Well, what are we waiting for?" Madame Foster chirped. "I'm not a hundred and one yet! Let's get this show on the road!"

Terrence rashly barged in headfirst, noting that the door was surprisingly unlocked. "Hello?" He called out.

* * *

><p>"The serum is complete. I'll drag the boy upstairs into the laboratory. Check the perimeters; nothing can go wrong now," Dr. F hissed. He yanked the surprised boy onto his feet out of the cage.<p>

"No funny moves, Mac," he warned, holding up the device. Mac flinched, mind racing sluggishly as he tried to think of a way out of his predicament. Immediately there was a beeping noise. The doctor flipped out the surveillance screen. His smirk widened.

"Kip, I think we have a few visitors you'd like to meet."

Kip sneered at Mac, who looked terrified. "It looks like big brother is here to save the day. Let's give him a show we can't forget, hmm?"

* * *

><p>The trio walked in cautiously, listening for any sound. Their ragged breath filled the air. Terrence only cupped his hands and shouted.<p>

"Hello?!"

_Hello? Hello? Hello? _The his own voice echoed back sadly. Frankie gripped his shoulder sympathetically.

"Terrence, maybe there's nothing here," Frankie muttered. Terrence was about to respond when he heard a muffled voice. Immediately, his head snapped up.

"Mac?"

Another mutter, then a scream.

"MAC!" he yelled, before shooting towards the left corridor. Frankie and Madame Foster soon followed.

"Terrence, wait, we might be going into a trap!" Frankie said desperately, latching onto his arm. Terrence brushed her off, and as he did so, he spotted something moving in the corner of his eye. With his football reflexes, he dived out of the hallway, dragging Frankie with him. A giant white cage slid down rapidly through the hallway and scooped up a surprised Madame Foster before crashing into the control room in the end of the hallway. Immediately afterwards a group of goons slid out of the control room brandishing their fists.

"Grandma!" Frankie yelled. She nodded at Terrence. "Go after Mac! I'll hold them off!" They darted into opposite directions. Terrence and ran into the farthest room. It was pitch black and silent.

"Mac?" He called out, unsure. Suddenly pain exploded in the left side of his face as the lights flickered on. Gritting his teeth, he rose in fury to spot the kidnapper.

"Well, well, Terrence. Long time, no see," Kip smirked, punching him in the jaw. Terrence stumbled backwards into a cabinet. "Pity your friends can't help you anymore. I thought you drowned...no matter I can beat you up a second time!"

* * *

><p>Dr. F scowled as he literally dragged Mac up the stairs. It was annoying; the boy had suddenly gained some sort of determination after realizing that his brother was alive and in grave danger. Although Mac seemed to have realized that he was in no condition to run, he stubbornly put up resistance, latching onto the stairs to slow them down. Dr. F was tempted to knock him out, but unfortunately he needed him conscious for his experiment to be a success. The stupid serum only worked when the drinker was awake.<p>

"Almost...there," he grunted, vowing to make the boy's life a thousand times more painful if he ever got out of this.

* * *

><p>"Do you know how long I was waiting for this moment?" Kip whispered coldly as Terrence struggled to get onto his feet. "Your brother and his imaginary friend gave me so much trouble 5 years ago. Completely destroyed by production business. I swore to repay it back to them. Nasty little buggers. But I think you top that honor." He kicked him in the ribs, forcing Terrence to let out a howl of pain.<p>

"And once I'm done with you, I'll finish off your stupid little brother."

Terrence snarled suddenly, and pushed a startled Kip to the ground. He punched the man, who deflected it with his arm, then was forced backwards as Kip performed an impressive roundhouse kick. Terrence rolled his eyes at the unnecessary display of flamboyance, and merely punched his exposed face. Kip collapsed with a yelp.

"What the hell do you think this is? Some sort of ballet class where you can show off your moves?" Terrence snorted. Kip glowered before sweeping his legs under him, knocking the teen down. Cursing, Terrence tripped over, then rolled to avoid Kip's exaggerated uppercut. Rising, he sidestepped the man, before being forced back again by a powerful jab by an elbow. Terrence swore internally. The man wasn't a professional fighter, but could pack a punch and hold his ground. Kip also had amazing endurance; he showed no signs of weariness while Terrence was already sweating. The exhaustion from the past two weeks had taken its toll on his body. Terrence knew that the fight was against his favor, and Kip knew it too. Smirking, Kip threw a snazzy punch into his gut, and Terrence doubled over, wincing.

"Give it up, sissy boy," Kip mocked. Terrence looked around for anything, anything to help him...then ignoring his screaming ribs, ducked the next punch as the fist buried itself into the wall behind him. He ran off as Kip yelled.

"STOP! I just want to punch you!"

Deja vu._ Was this how Mac felt 5 years ago? The irony of it all. Haha. Ha. _Terrence berated himself. _Now's not the best time to enjoy dark humor._

As he dodged another perfectly-executed kick, Terrence realized that Kip had one major flaw; maybe it was because the man had worked in the production industry, but he clearly cared too much about the appearance and posture of his fighting moves. This meant that he spent more time to execute them to make them look more impressive. Terrence already felt exhausted, but if he gathered his strength for that one opening...

"Take this!" Kip twirled like a ballerina to deliver another roundhouse kick. Terrence immediately socked him once in the jaw, twice in the gut, and brutally stepped on his foot. With a yowl, Kip fell down, moaning about his aching limbs. He gulped when he spotted a murderous face just inches away from his own.

"Where's Mac? Start explaining!" Terrence growled dangerously.

* * *

><p>"Well I guess it's just the two of us, Mac," Dr. F grinned. Fluorescent purple liquid sloshed around in the needle he was carrying. Mac continued to struggle uselessly in his chair against the metal cuffs clenched tight around his forearms.<p>

"Save your strength. Those are made of Titanium." Mac ignored him, still trying to wriggle his trapped limbs free. The scientist sighed, then shocked him slightly. The jolt forced Mac to pause.

"Do you really think your brother can save you now, Mac?" Dr. F drawled, smoothly. Mac glared at him silently.

"Don't underestimate him. He's a lot smarter than he looks," he spat. Dr. F chuckled. Suddenly he leaned over until the distance between their faces was about a centimeter away. Mac flinched back, back pressed hard against the chair.

"Possibly. But I have you," Dr. F whispered wickedly, plunging the needle into the unsuspecting boy's neck.

* * *

><p>"Where's Mac?" The man gave a wheezing chuckle. Terrence violently slammed him into the wall again.<p>

"Where is he?" he growled dangerously. Kip coughed, giving a croaky laugh.

"Y...you idiot! It's too late...We've gone and done it...He's in Dr. F's hands now. They're in his laboratory as we speak," he grinned madly. Terrence blanched. _It was a distraction oh gods how could he have been so stupid...?_

"GODDAMNIT! he cursed. Rummaging through Kip's pockets to make sure he held nothing threatening, he found a weird purple device labeled "Distorter." He had no idea what it was, but pocketed it just in case for evidence before running down the hallway. He climbed up the stairs three at a time. Panting heavily, he screeched to a halt outside the double doors. Leaning his ear against it, he heard muffled voices, and used his arms to budge the closed doors open. It barely budged, and he cursed under his breath again before trying again.

_I'm coming, Mac! Hold on just a little longer..._

* * *

><p>Mac's mother opened the door quietly. It creaked slowly, but listening intently, she heard the whimpers of someone caught in a bad nightmare. Wilt's anxious voice drifted into her head.<p>

_He hasn't been eating much lately._

_I'm really sorry to say this, but I think he's been avoiding us after Mac went missing._

_I hear him toss and turn all night, and he looks like he's gotten no sleep at all._

_It's all hit us hard, but he's really distraught...It's really not okay..._

Sighing, she silently crept to the bedside with the experience of one who's done it too many times. Bloo looked awful. Dark circles decorated his eyes, and he looked feverish, muttering something fearfully under his breath. She gently placed a hand on his head, and watched as Bloo relaxed, sighing contentedly at her presence...

_"Mom, I'm scared," Mac whispered. His mother gently tucked him in._

_"There's nothing to be afraid of, Mac," she said softly. His eyes widened fearfully._

_"But when you leave...the monsters...they'll come out of the closet and EAT me!" he gulped. She almost laughed at the pouting expression her youngest son was now sporting._

_"Mac, go to sleep. Monsters don't exist. Well, maybe except for your dad." Mac giggled at her joke as she leaned in and ruffled his hair. "Do you want me to stay here until you sleep?" __Brown eyes begged pleadingly. "Okay, I'll be right here, sweetie. Sleep tight."_

_When Mac finally fell asleep, she yawned and exited the room, gently shutting the door behind her. Immediately she almost bumped into another person behind her._

_"Woah!"_

_"Oh, sorry! I didn't mean to scare you," her husband whispered, gently shutting the door behind him closed. She felt an irresistible grin grace her face.__  
><em>

_"Monsters in the closet?" _

_Her husband chuckled in that warm, rumbling laughter. __"Nope. Fairies in the bathroom," he winked, gesturing at Terrence's room behind him._

Suddenly, she felt dead, so dead and so hollow. Ten years ago she thought she had lost everything, but now, she was truly alone. She abruptly recoiled her hand from her missing son's imaginary friend and silently felt the tears drip down her cheeks.

_What do you do when your entire world with everyone you love burns to the ground?_

_What do I do now...?_

_WhatdoIdonowWhatdoIdonowWhatdoIdonow..._


	8. Chapter 8

**Author's Note:**** Hi guys! I made you wait a lot longer than I thought-**

***Readers pelt me with paper***

**"Noes! I'm sorry T_T"**

**Exams have been holding me up for a while...plus I've been recovering from all those plane flights back home. I literally crashed 11 hours of sleep on the day I arrived. Sleep never felt so glorious.**

**Anyways, a quick thanks to justapianistgirl. I appreciate the fact that you're spending time to review. :) Good luck on school stuff~**

**Hoorayz new chappy...only two more to go!**

**P.S. If some of the text comes out weirdly formatted (e.g. space dividers randomly being nonexistent and leaving only blank space), I apologize. I'm facing some issues with technology. :/**

* * *

><p>Mac was standing in the middle of the car accident again. Squeezing his eyes shut, he tried to tune out the voices, the terrible voices and horrible sights. His father's corpse was strewn across the bloody road, and it still gazed at him accusingly in death.<p>

_It's your fault..._

"Please stop! Stop it!" Mac cradled his head and squeezed his eyes shut. But darkness brought no reprieve from the agony of fear. Invisible tormentors jabbed and whispered at him. Fear bubbled inside him, and he wanted to bolt, to run away...but how could he escape from his own mind?

_No one likes you_

_Everyone loves Bloo. Why aren't you funny and brave like him, you wimp?_

_They say you're shy, you're quiet. But we all know it's because you're a L-I-A-R_

"No! Please!" He sobbed in panic. "I swear I didn't mean it!"

_It's your fault dad died..._

Suddenly cracking his pained eyes open, he saw Terrence sitting on the curb of the road. Mac ran over to him in surprised relief.

"Terrence! You're okay! Come on, we need to escape..." His voice died when Terrence turned around with a scowl. Suddenly, Mac felt afraid like he was three all over again.

"Terrence...?"

"Get out."

"Wha-"

"Run away from us. You freak," Terrence whispered viciously. Mac flinched.

"Terrence, please, it was an accident, I didn't mean to-" Terrence pushed him to the hard concrete ground.

"No! GO AWAY! Mom hates you, Bloo hates you, and I HATE YOU!"

"Terrence..." Mac begged, reaching out to him with a tear-stained hand. Terrence ruthlessly slapped his hand aside.

"It's YOUR fault dad died! Leave, and NEVER come back!" Terrence bellowed dangerously. Mac froze, and he felt his heart shatter into a million pieces like glass against the cold accusation.

_It's your fault dad died..._

_My fault...It's all m__y fault..._

"I'm so sorry," Mac whispered. "It's my fault..."

* * *

><p>With a grunt, Terrence ripped the doors from their hinges. The heavy metal collapsed onto the floor with a thud from his sweaty hands.<p>

"Darn it! Kip! I need the Distorter NOW! KIP! Answer me!" Terrence looked up to see a mad scientist dancing back and forth frantically in front of his unresponsive brother, who was slumped over in a chair. Furiously, Terrence marched over. Dr. F noticed him, and his expression brightened at the sight of the purple device in Terrence's pocket.

"Ah, you have my Distorter! Hand it over."

"Oh yeah? Let me distort your face!" Terrence snapped, punching the scientist and sending him sprawling onto the floor. Leaving him groaning on the floor, he hurriedly went over to check on Mac.

"Mac? Mac? Kiddo, answer me!" He shook his brother's shoulders. Suddenly Mac screamed, arching his back, electricity dancing across his skin. Terrence turned around in alarm.

"What the-?" As quickly as it happened, it stopped and Mac slumped into his chair whimpering. Dr. F was panting hungrily, a crazy light in his eyes. His hand was wrapped around a device with a red button.

"Nobody interferes with my experiments...hand over the Distorter and I'll let your brother go. Nah-Ah, Terrence," he waggled a finger as Terrence swaggered over to punch him again. "Even if you defeat me, you can't get your brother free from his restraints. Only I can activate the bonds. So unless you want your brother to die because of your stupidity, slide the Distorter over." Terrence hesitated, then Dr. F shrugged his shoulders.

"Oh well. Have it your way." He moved his finger onto the button and-

"NO!" Terrence shouted frantically. The scientist now looked extremely annoyed.

"NOW, boy. I'm a busy man and don't have time for this." Terrence reluctantly slid the distorter over and the scientist scooped it up.

"Now release my brother," Terrence snapped menacingly. Dr. F sighed.

"I suppose I should. I have no use for him anyway." The metal clasps opened, and Mac sprawled limply onto the floor. "AT LAST!" Dr. F cackled, processing the Distorter. In a flash, Terrence was at his brother's side.

"Mac, wake up!" He roughly shook his shoulders. To his relief, Mac slowly opened his eyes, but the relief was short-lived. His brother fixed a shockingly dead stare at him, the same look he saw on the faces of the other broken teens at the hospital. He shuddered; Mac's eyes were always alive with some emotion, but to see them extinguished like this...

"...It's my fault...," Mac muttered as if oblivious to his presence. "Dad...my fault..."

"SNAP OUT OF IT, DOOFUS!" Terrence was becoming frantic. To his alarm, Mac immediately flinched back violently, glazed brown eyes wide with fear.

"Terrence! L-L-Leave me alone!" his brother yelled to Terrence's shock, arms raised above his head as if to deflect a blow. For some reason, Terrence felt hurt, sick to his stomach. He had seen that familiar posture too many times when he was younger, younger when he had beaten Mac up for his enjoyment._  
><em>

"Mac..."

"No...go away...I deserve this..."

"What the hell is wrong with you?" Terrence snapped, starting to freak out. He angrily turned to face the scientist, but froze when he spotted a black portal open up.

"Yes, Yes, YES!" The mad scientist howled with delight. "I have done it! After all these years...I have unlocked the ultimate Extremeosaur! You see, _Terrence_," Dr. F smirked with cold satisfaction. "I had a noteworthy ambition at a young age. I knew I could make a better society if I was in charge, and tried turning people over with science and generosity to prove my point." Dr. F had a nasty gleam in his eye. "It didn't work. People took advantage of my creations, only to sue and complain to me when they abused my inventions to break the law. I stayed in prison for years, wallowing in misery until I realized that I didn't need to abide to the law."

"So you became a psychopath."

"No, I became a mastermind," he corrected in a sickeningly patronizing tone. "Kindness failed...so a sudden idea struck me. Why don't I rule people with fear? Not just a physical army, no, I'd have rebellions everyday, and that's just ridiculous. I needed a weapon to target the safety of the human mind. Ever wonder what Extremeosaurs are, Terrence?" he asked. Terrence only stared back stonily.

"Extremeosaurs are born from nightmares. I'm not talking about little stupid childish fears of lightning or bugs, I'm talking about your inner fears." A dark shadow had now covered the scientist's face as he spoke. "Why can young teens make the most frightening Extremeosaurs? Well your teenage years are the perfect time; the time when humans struggle with their discontents, failures, reality in the midst of retaining your childish innocence. Adults might have the worst, deepest fears because of their depth of thought and experience, but they lack the belief in magic. Children have a strong sense of imagination, but lack the depth and validity of a true fear. I needed to create an Extremeosaur who could transform into the fears of anyone."

"You're sick," Terrence spat. "Kidnapping teens and torturing them out of their minds so you can rule the world...why did you want to kidnap my brother anyway?"

"There we come to a full circle. I needed to exploit and collect the inner fears of the teens I kidnapped. I hacked into the government data and employed a hit team to stalk my subjects and report to me about every little finding from one month to a year. It was so easy," he cackled to Terrence's disgust.

"Then I injected a fear serum into their bloodstream and watched them create imaginary matter from their inner fears! But the problem was that the test subjects broke down too easily, too quickly. I needed a test subject with a strong mind, one who could resist until I could distort their fears into the Ultimate Extremeosaur! And your brother's profile was very interesting; I realized that he was visiting an imaginary friend every day, but had no adoption papers in the government database. And what delicious fears he had too! I had no idea your father died trying to save your brother and how much you hated him for it," he cackled gleefully.

"...I don't hate him anymore," Terrence muttered quietly.

"It doesn't matter. Even with your interference, I have succeeded," The scientist grinned manically. "And now, I have enough nightmare fuel to create the most fearsome imaginary friend! Now, _Nightmare_, rise!" The portal shuddered, then a faceless black mass coiled out. As the portal closed behind it, it ominously rose above all of them before letting out a bloodcurdling scream. Dr. F cackled maniacally.

"You know too much now, Terrence. But that's okay. No witnesses, right?" At his command, Nightmare collapsed into a set of tentacles, slithering toward Terrence and Mac. Terrence felt despair crawl over him. He was too late. He was about to die, Madame Foster was trapped in the stinkin' control room, Frankie probably was out of commission, and his brother was already lost somewhere he could not reach...

No.

He'd be darned to let this stupid scientist mess with his feelings and rule the world with a stupid blob of a nightmare.

"YARG!" He bellowed, wrenching the fallen door over Nightmare, squishing the alien creature. The black mass seemed unaffected, and then oozing out from beneath the door, rose up, molding itself into a recognizable shape by the second. Suddenly, his former English teacher stood before him.

"Terrence," It whispered. "Your lack of intelligence is quite stunning." Terrence punched it and it dissolved to reshape itself into a familiar corpse.

"Terrence," His father groaned. "Where were you when I was saving your brother? It's your fault I died..." Again, Terrence hit the creature furiously, trying not to cry. Then it remorphed into...

"Brother...," Mac whispered. Terrence froze. "Help me..." Terrence raised a shaky fist. The form flinched backwards. "Don't hurt me again...Please, Terrence," It begged, an uncanny imitation of his brother. Terrence was truly shaking like a leaf.

"You hate me, don't you?" It murmured sadly. Terrence gulped.

"I don't hate you anymore..."

"But you tried to hurt me."

"I hurt you because I blamed you for dad's death. It's not your fault, it never was..."

"Hit me then. Hit me again, make me cry."

"Y-You're not my brother..." Terrence said shakily, trying to convince himself. The form looked up at him timidly before grinning with a malicious smile.

"You're right, I'm not." It punched Terrence in the gut. Terrence stumbled backwards from the unexpected blow. Nightmare towered over his fallen form with an innocent look.

"Oops, did I hurt you? I want to apologize...but it's too late!" With an evil twisted smile, Nightmare punched downward...Only for his fist to be stopped by Mac's shaky palm.

"Leave my brother alone," Mac gritted weakly, shoving a surprised Nightmare back.

Terrence looked up in bewilderment. "Mac-you...how...?"

Nightmare scowled before transforming into another figure. It loomed threateningly over Mac, who stared transfixed in shock.

"Mac, you killed dad! It's your fault!" The Terrence imposter bellowed, making Mac flinch back in fright. The imposter leered.

"Sod off, you coward! Mac, don't listen to it!" Terrence snapped. Nightmare scoffed.

"Don't you deny it! He admitted that he blamed you for your dad's death, Mac. I know your fears, I know everyone's fears. I'm not lying. He enjoyed every single second of beating you up." Mac weakly looked towards his brother in despair._  
><em>

"Terrence..."

"I did," he cut in bluntly. "It was wrong, and I regret it now." Mac still looked uncertain. Nightmare sang mockingly.

"Liar, liar, pants on fire..."

"Shut up! Mac, listen to me, I mean it!"

"Wait, stop! I just want to punch you!" Nightmare cackled gleefully. Mac clenched his teeth.

"No...Stop it!" To their surprise, Mac punched the imposter in the face. It fell to the ground sputtering.

"What...how?"

"My brother would never hurt me," Mac said, narrowing his eyes. "He might have made a few mistakes in the past, but he's not like that anymore." Nightmare flickered back and forth between the two boys and scowled.

"Why aren't you afraid?" The imposter Terrence yelled. The real Terrence swung a fist into its head as it scattered and reformed into an imposter Mac.

"You should be afraid of me!" It cried out at Terrence, before being tackled by Mac. Terrence stood above them, glowering.

"Get out of the way, Mac." Mac needed no explanation before launching himself off. The imposter Mac gazed up at Terrence menacingly.

"Your brother is smarter than you. You're nothing compared to him," It hissed. Terrence only raised an eyebrow.

"Oh yeah? Sure he's smarter than me. But he wouldn't be my brother if he weren't so frickin smart." With that, he punched Nightmare in the face. It wailed once, then started to become translucent.

"No...NO! THIS ISN'T HOW IT'S SUPPOSED TO END!" It howled. Mac suddenly materialized and placed a palm on its side as the nightmare cracked and shattered into a thousand pieces of melting smoke. Several tendrils shot out screaming into the air. Terrence stumbled as one snaked into his body, but to his surprise felt nothing. Mac seemed to absorb most of it. His younger brother shuddered then collapsed onto the floor.

"Mac!" Terrence rushed forward, barely catching his brother in his arms before he hit the ground. Dazedly looking up, Mac threw him a tired, but reassuring grin. Terrence frowned.

"What the hell was that? What the blazes was this smoke?"

"I'm fine...We can't destroy fear, but we can learn to accept it," Mac muttered, starting to nod off. "Did you really mean that?" he asked suddenly, his eyes shining with the reflection of the night sky above him. Terrence feigned ignorance.

"Mean what?" He asked innocently.

"You know what I mean. About me being smart." Darn his brother and his smart mouth.

"Yeah. Maybe," he said grudgingly. Mac gave a genuine smile. For some reason, the fact that they were alive after single-handedly defeating a giant monster made Terrence crack up at the sheer ridiculousness of the entire situation. Mac's laughter quickly joined his throaty rumble.

"You! YOU RUINED EVERYTHING!" They turned around. Dr. F looked completely unhinged. "You ruined my plans, Terrence! And I don't like it when people ruin my plans," he growled dangerously. Mac flinched, and Terrence stiffened at his brother's reaction. _This man had tortured his brother for two weeks..._

"You'd be lucky to survive the night," Terrence replied coldly, cracking his knuckles. The scientist laughed hysterically.

"Lucky? LUCKY? There is no doubt that the police are on their way. I'm going to be turned in..." he fixed an unsettling eye on him. "But I'd be damned to give you a happy ending!" He whipped out a device with a familiar red button, and Terrence blanched. _Damn it, how could he have forgotten about the electric collar? _Before he could act though, the scientist jammed his finger onto the button.

Terrence stiffened, waiting for his brother's pained screeches to fill the air. Nothing happened. Surprised, he stared at Mac, who was now unconscious. Furiously, he turned around.

"You-!"

"Looking for these?" Frankie Foster suddenly stood in front of the scientist, twirling two batteries in her hand. The doctor gaped.

"But-how...?" He sputtered.

"Don't leave your things lying on the floor, idiot," she snapped, socking him in the temple. OHKO. The doctor collapsed onto the floor in a dead faint. Replacing the batteries, she pressed another button on the device. As soon as the collar unclasped from Mac's neck with a pneumatic hiss, Terrence immediately crushed the despicable device under his foot. Frankie turned to Terrence apologetically.

"Sorry we couldn't come earlier. You won't believe how difficult it was to access the control room!"

"I guessed all 50 passwords correctly!" Madame Foster cackled, appearing next to her.

"Anyways, I saw this dork and the Extremeosaur on the camera screen, so we hurried here as quickly as we could. Looked like you already handled the Extremeosaur though." Frankie flashed a worried look towards Mac. "Is he-?"

"No. I think he just fainted from exhaustion."

Frankie clenched her fist. "I can't believe that...that monster-"

"I know." Terrence just breathed out a huge sigh of relief and looked up into the open night sky where the North Star seemed to dance. "I'm just glad we're all alive."


	9. Chapter 9

**Author's Note:** **Oh cripes, 1030 views! I never thought this story would get this many readers! Anyhoo, thanks for your continuous support as always. :) You guys rock. Really.**

**I'll post the last chapter up sometime before 2015. A new year should represent new beginnings, right? Plus I do have the last chapter done; but endings are just so hard to get right. :/**

**To CMR Rosa: Thanks! I like playing around with different concepts. Sometimes I get somewhere, and sometimes, well, it sounds ...funky.**

**To Justapianogirl: An early Merry Christmas to you too. :) Haha Nightmare messing with the brothers was quite..._interesting _to write about. But hey, I'm glad everything worked out.**

**To ItsJustAKindOfMagic: I have never been to the Netherlands before. Someone I know lives there though, and told me that they don't ride cars often. And they like their cheese. ;D Hope your trip went well.. ****Maybe I'm misunderstanding what you wrote, but Kip and Dr. F are two different people. The rapid-fire action gets confusing sometimes, and maybe my writing's just not clear haha. But yes, we should see more Terrence-Mac sibling bonding :)**

**ONE MORE CHAPTER LEFT WHOOPEE**

**[Insert disclaimer that I have neglected to do for a few chapters before but is implied throughout the story anyway]**

* * *

><p>Dr. F was arrested by police first thing in the morning. After being found guilty with incriminating evidence, he was shipped off to a distant prison out of the city, never to be heard of again.<p>

Kip had fled, and had remained highly wanted by the police. However, officers found him in an unusual scene a week later. The ex-producer was sprawled on the street as if someone had suspiciously knocked him out cold. They interrogated one witness: a familiar, fiery-headed woman.

"He tripped over his own shoelaces," Frankie had innocently suggested, then stalked off to the convenience store, mumbling why everything happened during her grocery errands. The police, sensing no foul play, decided to turn a blind eye and turned down a former investigation.

Mac was ordered to be bedridden for a month in the hospital. He also had weekly psychiatrist appointments much to his distaste. Again, much to his displeasure, Terrence seemed to have become neurotically overprotective overnight, even bringing over his textbooks to study alongside him (not that he'd admit it). On top of that, their mother frantically checked up on the both of them every five seconds from work.

"Mom, this is the sixth time you visited me, and it's still 9 in the morning," Mac had finally said patiently on the third day. "It's okay; you should work. And besides," he laughed. "I don't think Terrence would leave me alone. He tried to follow me into the bathroom yesterday."

Terrence glowered from over the top of his calculus homework. "No, I didn't," he snapped. "But yeah, mom, it's all right. Plus it's really embarrassing that you're fussing over us," he grumbled grumpily. Their mother had suddenly burst out into tears to their collective alarm.

"Mom...!"

"I know, it's just...I'm sorry," she sobbed, wiping away her tears with a weak smile. After that, she reduced her visits to twice a day (although under the condition that her sons would text her in the morning, afternoon, and night before bed).

* * *

><p>"Terrence...?"<p>

"What?"

"You should go back home, it's past visiting hours..."

"Screw visiting hours. I'm sleeping over tonight. The nurses allowed me an exception for today."

Mac groaned. "Terrence-"

"What?" Terrence shot back irritably. "I'm not staying over because I'm worried, I need to work on my self-defense skills if some kidnapper barges in or something."

"You could take martial arts classes."

"Classes are for dorks. They don't teach you how to prepare for dangers in _real _life."

"Terrence-"

"Stop bugging me and go to sleep! I'm staying, and you can't make me leave." Mac threw his hands up in the air in a frustrated fit.

"UGH! Terrence, I'm not three years old. You don't have to babysit me," Mac snapped. Terrence raised an eyebrow.

"Do you want me to call mom? I'm pretty sure she'll be happy to stay over-"

"NO!" Mac said frantically. Terrence smirked.

"I thought so. Now SLEEP. I can't spend my time yammering with you if I have to study for my Calculus test tomorrow." Mac made a face and smacked him with a pillow.

"You're the _worst _brother ever."

"Right back at you, bro." There was a silence as realization hit Terrence. "Hey!" Then Terrence punched him on the shoulder. Mac winced and whined back.

"Owww..."

Terrence snorted. "I can't believe you're still such a wimp."

"Bugger off, you jerk, before I report you to child abuse."

Terrence chuckled. Mac raised an eyebrow. "I can't believe you chuckled."

"Go to sleep. You heard nothing."

Mac rolled his eyes. "Riiiiight, like that noise was clearly not a chuckle-" Terrence suddenly cracked his knuckles and Mac hastily rolled over on his bed.

"Okay, okay! I'm going to sleep!" he yelped.

"That's more like it."

* * *

><p>The next few weeks, Mac had gotten two surprise visits. The first one was in the morning. Bloo blasted through the door of his room screaming his name joyfully over and over until Frankie half-heartedly snapped at him to behave.<p>

"We're all so relieved that you're okay," she whispered suddenly, wrapping him in a warm hug. She felt Mac flinch back from her touch before relaxing in her embrace. Even so, she still felt him shaking slightly, and pulled away.

"I'm sorry, I-I-" he stammered.

"No need to explain, pal." Anger filled her as she thought about what those bastards had done to make him have a strong reaction to any physical contact. Mac saw her furious expression, and winced, misinterpreting it.

"No, I'm sorry. I'm just so weak," he muttered shamefully. Frankie snapped her head up in shock.

"Mac, it's not your fault. Don't blame yourself. You are one of the strongest people I know. Heck, you survived two weeks in that hellhole!" Her face softened slightly. Mac grinned back shyly.

"Thanks, Frankie."

"Hey, Hey, Mac, guess what?"

"What?"

"How did it feel like to be kidnapped?"

"Bloo, stop being so insensitive!" Frankie snapped.

"I'm not being insensitiveeeeeeee," he whined.

"Yes, you are!"

"But stuff like this only actually happens in the movies," he complained. Mac laughed at their banter, Frankie's face red with frustration and Bloo's pitiful complaints. Abruptly the blue figment jumped onto his bed and patted him on the head (wow coincidental rhyme).

"But hey, I really did miss you when you disappeared," he said cheerfully. "You're really annoying about sticking to the rules and stuff, but eh, life was better with you in it."

Mac stifled back a laugh. "Gee, thanks Bloo."

"Plus we really need to finish that prank of ours before you went missing. I got the lightbulbs like you asked."

"What prank?" Frankie asked suspiciously. Bloo shrugged his shoulders.

"One you don't need to know about."

"BLOO!"

"What the blazes is going on here?" A male voice bellowed at the doorway. Terrence nonchalantly ignored Frankie's presence and immediately fixed a dangerous scowl at Bloo, who was sitting next to Mac on the bed. For some reason, he wanted to punch a wall.

"Get off the bed, blobby!" he snapped, walking over menacingly. Bloo only scowled back.

"Why? Mac's fine with me sitting here, right buddy?"

"He needs rest and you're not helping!" he lunged forward only for Bloo to dodge his grip by running to the other side of the bed. The blob scoffed.

"Since when did you care about Mac?" he retorted, eyes narrowed in suspicion. Mac locked eyes with Frankie she winced, shrugging helplessly.

"Guys-" Mac began. The two ignored him.

"I guess I'll do it the hard way." Terrence cracked his knuckles menacingly while Bloo smirked dangerously.

"Bring it on. I'll whoop your butt just like old times."

Immediately, they lunged for each other. Terrence swung a fist at the blob, who narrowly avoided by jumping high on the bed. He pulled a mocking face before Terrence lunged across the bed. His tackle was forceful enough to move the entire bed, making Mac yelp.

"Terrence-!"

"Not now, Mac, I'm busy," Terrence grunted, desperately trying to reach Bloo who was now hiding under the bed. Immediately, Bloo kicked him in the shins before darting back down. Swearing, Terrence hopped on one foot.

"You little piece of sh-"

"TERRENCE!" Mac yelled, making him stop midsentence in shock. His brother rarely raised his voice; if he did, it meant that he was at the end of his patience. "It's...I'm okay with Bloo sitting on my bed," he said softly. Bloo smirked at him from under the bed. Terrence's eyes widened in shock before composing himself into a hateful glare.

"All right then, fine! Go make fun of me with your stupid blob," he snapped, turning on his heel and stomping away. Mac looked hurt.

"Terrence-"

"That's what you've always wanted, right?" he cut in savagely without mercy before exiting the room. Mac looked like he was going to cry. Bloo jumped onto his bed.

"Finally! What a dunderhead," Bloo remarked, snuggling next to his creator. Frankie gently lifted him off the bed.

"Bloo, we're leaving," she said curtly.

"WHAT! But I just-"

"Now," she interrupted in a dangerous tone. Bloo gulped.

"Bye, Mac! See you next time!" He said, waving a blobby arm as Frankie carried him away with a apologetic look. Mac weakly smiled back at both of them, wincing at the sudden pain racking through his head.

* * *

><p>"No, no, I'm sorry! It was an accident! Kill me instead!"<p>

He woke up with a shuddering gasp, a scream still stuck in his throat. Heaving dry sobs, he buried his face in his minds, silently counting to compose himself..

_1...2...3...I'm alive, it's not my fault...4...5...6...Terrence doesn't hate me...Or maybe he still does..._

"The doctor said it was particularly bad this time." Mac almost cricked his neck in shock to spot his brother sitting in a chair next to the bed. He couldn't see Terrence's face in the darkness of the room, but his voice sounded a little strange...was it relief? Guilt? "He said our argument probably triggered the hallucination this time."

Mac drew a rattling breath before responding with a shaky laugh. "It's fine, really. I'm fine-"

"Bullshit," Terrence said casually. Mac winced.

"Okay, I'm really not. But what can I do? The doctor said that the only cure for this is time. It's okay." Terrence's outline suddenly looked blurry, and Mac panicked about his vision failing before realizing that his brother was actually trembling.

"Terrence?"

"How can you be "okay" after all this?" Terrence gave a shaky laugh. "I don't understand..."

"Well, you're alive. Frankie and Madame Foster's alive. I'm alive," he rattled off casually. Terrence gave a look of disbelief at his younger brother.

"Yeah, we're all alive and dandy except for the fact that you're traumatized and get awful hallucinations about dad dying every once in a while. That sounds okay," he said sarcastically, shaking his head side to side. "You know, I'm still surprised you weren't driven insane after two weeks." Mac shrugged, eyes suddenly bright.

"You saved me, Terrence," Mac said quietly. "If it weren't for you, I think I might have been. I couldn't tell what was real and what wasn't. Don't tell this to mom, but I even thought about dying just to escape the pain."

"It was that bad?"

"It was that bad."

For a few seconds, they sat in uncomfortable silence, and the shrill staccato of the heart monitor was the only sound that punctured the thick atmosphere.

"...You know, now I'm really glad you didn't. Mom would nag me more until I probably turned myself insane," Terrence finally grumbled. Mac somehow caught the hidden messages beneath those casual lines.

_I'm glad you're safe._

_Mom missed you._

_I was so worried._

"Yeah. I'm glad too."

"Don't ever get yourself kidnapped again, you moron," Terrence suddenly snapped then socked him on the shoulder again to Mac's protest. "Who would I pick on if you're gone?"

"Well Bloo could give you a run for my money," Mac stifled back a laugh as Terrence suddenly looked murderous.

"That blue blob's completely loony!"

"Hey!" Mac interjected. "You know that Bloo's made of my thoughts, right?"

"Oh yeah, that explains it. I always knew you were crazy to begin with."

"Terrence!"

When their mom came to visit, she saw Mac protesting complaints at Terrence, who was laughing his head off and clutching at the stitches on his side.

* * *

><p>His second surprise visit came around the end of the month. When he opened the door, Mac had absentmindedly been playing with his rubix cube.<p>

"Hey, Terrence! You came early today-" Mac faltered when he realized a blond boy his age was standing at the door.

"Oh, um...can I come in?"

"Sure. You can sit in that empty chair if you'd like. My name's Mac."

"Tom."

"Nice to meet you Tom," Mac responded curiously. Tom drew up a chair.

"I want to thank you and your brother for saving us."

Mac looked confused. "What do you mean?"

"You don't know?" Tom questioned, eyebrows raised. Mac shrugged.

"Well, I live in the wing where me and some of the other kids were kidnapped by Dr. F like you were," the blonde responded casually. "None of us were in our right minds, see. I used to be mute for a while."

"Oh..." Mac had no idea what to say to this. Luckily, he didn't have to as Tom continued.

"But a few days ago, all of us saw these black wisps of smoke enter our room. It kind of dissolved into us...I don't know how to explain it," he grimaced. "But since then, all of us have been cured. It's kind of strange; we still dream of our fears every day but I guess we learned to accept them and move on...then Madame Foster explained what had happened." He looked at Mac wistfully. "You're so lucky to have a brother like Terrence. I wish I had a sibling like that."

Mac cracked a grin. "I guess. So are you going to live with your family again?" Tom shuffled his feet awkwardly.

"Oh, uh, I'm an orphan," he said lamely. Mac flushed.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean-" Tom waved his apology off though. "Nah, it's okay, you didn't know. And besides, Madame Foster decided to adopt me. I moved in two days ago," he said shyly. "She told me you dropped by often, so I figured that I should get to know you. By the way, is Bloo your imaginary friend?"

"Yeah, he is. Wait, why?" Mac asked suspiciously.

"He's back to his normal prankster self apparently. Blew up three toilets last night in your celebration."

"Darn it, Bloo!" Tom stifled a laugh.

"He actually wanted me to pass you this note. We told him you were getting released from the hospital tonight," he said seriously, giving him a folded up wad of paper. Mac curiously read its contents.

_Hey Buddy!_

_I no I'm coole and awesum, but I hav someting eemportant to tell you. Com veesit me as soom as posseeble._

_From Yours Moste Trooly Awesom,_

_Bloo_

He stifled a laugh at the spelling errors. Looking up, Mac gave a grin. "See you soon, I guess?"

"Sure!" Tom flashed a wide grin before stepping out, almost bumping into Terrence on the way out. "Hi Terrence!"

"Hey kid," he grumbled back. Tom only laughed cheerfully at his response before darting away. Mac looked at his older brother curiously.

"You know him?"

"Yeah. I know him." He didn't elaborate, but Mac didn't push him. Terrence scowled. "Darn kid. I thought teenage boys were supposed to be manly, but that blonde acts like some gay woodland pixie."

"I guess he's happy he can speak now," Mac suggested. Terrence rolled his eyes.

"I'm happy you're alive, but that doesn't mean I'm prancing through the hallways singing Disney songs like a three-year-old girl." Mac grimaced at the mental image of his older brother warbling a high-pitched tune in a princess costume.

"Now that you mention it, I'm glad you're not."

"You'd better be. Now finish your homework, loser. You still have a lot of school work to make up if you want me to drive you to Foster's next Saturday. I'm getting sick of you moaning about visiting Foster's every day."


	10. Chapter 10

**Author's Note:**

**After several days of playing around with the ending, I realized that more fiddling around would probably make it sound worse. xP So before I cause the ending to become a complete flop, here it is.**

**To It'sJustAKindOfMagic: I agree; Bloo is pretty insensitive. xD It makes it hard for me to capture his personality though because I don't want to write him like a character with a randomized personality disorder haha**

**[Insert implied disclaimer here]**

* * *

><p>Terrence ran down the familiar alleyway, cursing under his breath. <em>How could the police let Kip escape prison again? <em>He suddenly stopped at a darkened dead end and shouted.

"I know you're there, Kip! Show yourself, you coward!" There was an ominous chuckle behind him, and he turned around to see Mac gagged and tied to a chair. Kip brandished a dangerously sharp knife and gave a wicked grin. Terrence froze.

"Hello, Terrence. What a pleasant surprise."

"Let go of my brother. He's done nothing to you!"

"On the contrary he ruined my business. So I guess I have a little grudge against both of you," Kip grinned maniacally at Terrence's plea. In one fluid motion, he covered Mac's eyes and set his knife close to his neck. Mac stiffly refused to react, but Terrence could see his brother trembling like a robin caught by a hungry cat. "Obedient little boy, isn't he?" Kip purred.

"Don't touch him!" Terrence barked, darting forward. Immediately several goons retrained him, but he still lashed out snarling like a rabid animal. Kip slid the knife closer to Mac's neck. A line of blood dotted the blade.

"Stop struggling, Terrence, if you want your brother to live." Terrence stopped, panting, but glowered so fiercely that he could have burned a hole through solid concrete. Kip grinned. "Good boy. I knew you had it in you."

Terrence could only stare mutely in anger as Kip slowly withdrew the knife and stroked the same hand lovingly across his brother's hair. Suddenly, he yanked his hair back, forcing Mac to let out a muffled yell.

"This is so difficult...I have both of you in my hands...but I don't know who to kill first and who to leave mentally scarred for life," Kip gave a sick smile as he locked eyes with Terrence.

"You're sick," he spat. Kip only chuckled in response, then ripped the gag off. Not wasting a second, Mac locked eyes with Terrence and shouted out desperately.

"TERRENCE! Kip's just playing around with you! Save yourself, it's a trap!"

"Listen to your good little brother, Terrence," Kip added mockingly.

"Shut up!" Terrence growled. Kip suddenly looked thoughtful.

"Well, you know, I think your brother's already had his share of trauma. Congratulations, Terrence. You win the prize of my ultimate hatred." Terrence felt his blood run cold. Elbowing the goon holding him back, Terrence ran forward, desperately hoping he made it in time-

"No! Terrence! Run!" Mac cried. Terrified brown orbs met liquid black...

Then Kip plunged the dagger into his younger brother's heart.

* * *

><p>"NO!" Terrence awoke howling. He sat in bed dumbly before realizing that it was just a nightmare. He ignored his shaky, sweaty palms. Kip kidnapping his brother had unhinged him more than he had wanted to admit.<p>

Suddenly there was a gentle knock on the door. He rolled his eyes. His mom was now prone to checking on her sons before going to bed.

"Come in." The door creaked open. "Mom, it's nothing, really, I just stubbed my toe..." Terrence's voice died as someone who was certainly NOT his mother entered his room.

"Terrence?" Mac whispered, walking up to his bed with a hint of concern. "Are you okay?" Terrence just stared at Mac. Mac started to look uncomfortable under his penetrating stare.

"I mean, I didn't mean to bother you. I was getting a cup of water when I heard you yelling. I'll just leave now-" Mac was cut off when his brother suddenly hugged him forcefully. The cup Mac was holding fell to the ground with a clatter, dumping the carpet wet with water.

"Terrence, what-?" Mac fell dumb with shock as his brother clenched him tighter and started heaving out dry, rib-wracking sobs. Mac awkwardly patted his older brother on the back.

"Um...Terrence?" Mac said uncertainly, wincing as his brother squeezed him like a teddy bear. But he let Terrence hug him without question, innocently unaware that he was the cause of the turmoil gripping his older brother.

* * *

><p>There was a resounding knock on the door. The sound of coarse wood echoed through the silent household.<p>

"Miss Frances!" Mr. Herriman called out while scribbling out several documents with his right hand and clutching a phone with his left. "Please answer the door!"

"Funny bunny! It's okay, I got it." Madame Foster scurried from the kitchen to the front entrance and magnanimously swung open the doors. First surprise, then happy realization filled her face.

"Well hello there, dearie!" Madame Foster beamed, ushering her guest in. "Come in!"

"...Thank you for all the help you've given. It must have cost a lot of trouble..." Mac's mother spoke softly. Madame Foster only shook her head vehemently.

"It's nothing! Absolutely no trouble at all! You and your family are always welcome, and don't you worry about it! Please, stay for some tea!"

"Oh no, thank you, I would but I was on my way to work. If it's fine, I just have to talk with a certain someone..."

"MADAME FOSTER! Mister Herriman is...oh." Bloo immediately noticed Mac's mother and looked uncertain. "Uh, Hello."

"What a coincidence, Bloo," She smiled wryly. "Looks like you've never failed to create more trouble since the day you were created." Bloo gave a nervous laugh, wringing his blobby hands. Mac's mother crouched down in front of him.

"We need to talk."

_Uh-oh_...Bloo thought. He sighed, and his posture finally slumped in defeat. "Yeah, I know. I was planning to tell Mac today-"

"I believe I was wrong."

Bloo goggled at her, and his jaw gaped. He must have misheard her. "...Sorry?"

Mac's mother sighed. "If anything, you're Mac's imaginary friend. I cannot force you two apart. While I cannot allow Mac to re-adopt you back into the house, I'll let him visit you everyday," She looked at him sternly. "As long as his visits do not affect his performance in school."

"Oh. OH! REALLY?"

"Really. Besides," She gave another dry smile. "I have no doubt he would still visit you anyway."

Bloo kneeled down and spread his arms out into the heavens. "THANK YOU BASED GOD!"

Mac's mother rose and stepped toward the door. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to go to work. Thank you for your hospitality, Madame Foster." Before she crossed the threshold however, she felt someone tug at the hem of her skirt.

"Um...M'am?" She turned around to face a sincere Bloo with an inquisitive stare. "Thank you. Really. You don't know how much this means to me." Bloo hesitated before plowing through. "How can I repay you for this?"

The stoic woman allowed a small smile to grace her lips. "Look after my son. Heaven knows he needs more friends." Then she vanished, gently letting the doors gracefully click shut behind her.

* * *

><p>Late afternoon came, and Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends loomed in front of them. Terrence parked the car.<p>

"We're here, doofus."

"Thanks, Terrence!"

"Whatever." Mac frowned suspiciously. Terrence was acting more grumpier than usual, but he couldn't tell why...

"Mac! Terrence! You're here!" Tom raced down the steps beaming at them, coming to a halt in front of Mac. In just a week, the blonde reverted back to a rash, carefree personality. Mac stifled a laugh; it was obvious knowledge that Tom and Terrence had a love-hate friendship. The clear grimace etched on Terrence's face proved that.

"No. _Mac_'s here. I'm not staying," Terrence grumbled, jabbing his thumb at his brother. "Now go play with your blue blob and stuff."

"Terrence! I missed you!" Tom gushed as he raced forward and hugged Terrence around the waist. Terrence pushed him away immediately.

"Ugh! What the hell is wrong with you, blondie?" he snapped.

Tom grinned cheekily. "It's nice to see you too, Terrence," he said sincerely, finally dropping the funny act.

"Whatever. Creep."

Tom whipped around to face Mac. "Hey, so we have everything set up. Bloo's waiting in his room. Come on up when you're ready!"

"Okay!" At his reply, Tom bounded up the stairs out of sight. Mac paused and looked at his brother curiously. "Hey, do you have anything else to do today?"

"No. Why?" Terrence looked at him suspiciously. "Do you think I'd come in there like a kid and play with Bloofus? Just don't stay too long." Mac cocked his head. Slowly a grin spread across his face.

"Wait...are you _jealous_?"

"...No."

"You totally are!" Mac laughed, wheezing for breath. "You're jealous that I'm hanging out with Bloo for the rest of the evening!" He laughed again, feeling tears rise in his eyes. Terrence rolled his eyes and snorted.

"Am not! What is there to be jealous about anyway?" Mac tugged his arm gently.

"You can hang out with us. We'll be pulling a prank today."

"What the heck? Hang around with a bunch of losers like you? No way. Plus Frankie was only expecting you to come, not me."

"Oh come on Terrence, you know Frankie won't mind if you stay over. She probably expects it anyway." Mac pleaded with big doe eyes at Terrence's hesitant expression. "Pleeeease?"

"Darn it, Mac!"

"Yes? That's a yes, right?"

"Whatever."

"YES!"

"But I'm only staying because some kidnapper might-"

"Terrence," Mac groaned. "For the hundredth time-"

"Nope," he smirked. "I'm never going to let that one go." Rolling his eyes, Mac punched his brother on the shoulder goodnaturedly, and they headed up to the mansion in slightly higher spirits.

* * *

><p>The prank was a success.<p>

All the imaginary friends were ushered outside to see the exciting sparkles of night grace the air. Fireworks lit the night in dazzling colors and the friends gasped in awe on the front lawn as they cheered.

"Oooooh!" They swooned collectively at the grand finale. When the show finally ended, they headed back inside the house. But they were unaware that they had another surprise left in store.

"That was a wonderful show- wait, what the-!" As they tried to open the some of the doors inside the house, they were struck stupefied as their hands swiped through the door.

"Holographic projections of fake doors? That was a genius idea, Bloo," Mac whispered, grinning at the sight of the friends stumbling around in confusion, Frankie looking bewildered and at a loss for words.

"How will we not get lost?"

Bloo rolled his eyes at Terrence. "We drew a map, stupid."

Terrence cracked his knuckles menacingly. "You-"

"Stop it, guys," Mac groaned.

"But he started it!" They announced in sync, then turned away from each other scowling when they realized this. They looked on in amusement as suddenly horrified realization dawned on Frankie's face. Her entire face an angry tomato red, she shrieked upwards with the anger of a thousand raging hippogriffs.

"BLOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! YOU'D BETTER BET YOUR BLUE BLOBBY BUTT THAT I DON'T FIND YOU TONIGHT!"

Mac suddenly looked worried. "You know, we should probably move before anyone catches us here..."

Tom rolled his eyes. "Relax, Mac. There's no harm done. The lightbulbs in all the old projectors will go out in two hours, and everyone's lost while we're hiding in this extremely secret room. What could possibly go wrong?"

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE?" Duchess screeched when she spotted them hiding in her room.

"...That," Mac squeaked.

"Get out, get out, GET OUT!"

They all fled the floor, laughing like utter morons. When they finally flew up two flights of stairs, they stopped to catch their breath, wheezing from lack of air and exhaustion.

"I'm never doing that again," Tom groaned. Terrence rolled his eyes.

"No kidding. You're such a wimp."

"HEY!"

"Mac," Bloo tugged on his sleeve as he watched them bicker in amusement. The blob looked uncharacteristically serious. "Did you read my note?"

"Yeah. Look, whatever my mom said, I'm totally fine with visiting you every day-"

"No, I need to tell you something."

He whispered something into his ear. Mac had an unreadable expression on his face, then an an irresistible grin graced his features.

"She said WHAT?"

"I know!" Bloo said gleefully. "She changed her mind! As long as you do well in school, she's totally fine with you coming over!"

"No way...," Mac whispered, still grinning like a loon.

"Yes way! You can see me every day!"

"...Oh," Mac suddenly looked down.

"What? What's wrong?" Bloo looked around worriedly.

"That means I have to see _your_ face every day," Mac mock-grimaced.

Bloo rolled his eyes. "My face isn't _that _bad. Besides, you should be lucky to have the coolest imaginary friend _ever_."

"Sure I am," Mac grinned, then grabbed his arm. "Come on, we should really separate those two before they start arguing for real..."

* * *

><p>Death of another summer break was here as students grumbled and trudged off to their classrooms. In short, everyone except for the over-excited freshmen looked like a sleep-deprived zombie.<p>

"I can't believe we're already sophomores," Mac groaned as they walked up to the school. Tom rolled his eyes as he joined him.

"Well I can. I'm so ready to be a senior. Oh, hello, ladies," he grinned, flashing a cocky smile at the gaggle of cheerleaders, who giggled as he swaggered past.

"...Stop that. It's so embarrassing!" Mac complained, punching in in the shoulder. Tom looked at him cheekily.

"I'm a football quarterback. What did you expect?"

"But you're promoting stereotypes!"

"Doesn't mean I can't flirt with girls." He smirked as Mac face palmed, wondering for the fiftieth time how he was best friends with someone so different.

"Just don't tell me you're crushing on my brother. You sound like a maniac fanboy."

"I'm not crushing on him!" Tom interjected, offended. "He's my role model."

"He says he hates your guts."

"That too," he shrugged. "Do you know how much I freaked out when I found out that he's a college football quarterback?! As if he wasn't tough enough with his black leather jackets and shades. He's like the epitome of masculinity, man."

"Who is?" The third friend of their trio slid in.

"Mac's brother."

"Oh my god! He does look pretty good looking now, you know. Kind of hot," she winked, elbowing Mac in the ribs.

"Ewww..." Mac complained, grimacing in disgust. "Goo, that is so gross!"

Goo snorted. "What? The fact that we're talking about how attractive your brother is? Don't worry, we're just teasing, Mac, geez." Goo grabbed his hand and started dragging him into the hallway. "Anyways, are you up for tutoring me in math again? You need to help me with the trig, 'cause I'm so confused and..."

"Hey, doofus!" Mac turned around to see Terrence walking towards them wearing his trademark leather jacket and classic shades. "I can't pick you up from school today, so here." Terrence tossed something heavy toward him. Mac barely managed to catch the new skateboard in in hands. Realization struck him.

"B-But Terrence! This is the North Star 6000! It's like the best brand in the market!"

Terrence rolled his eyes. "Well I did break your old one. Plus I have connections, don't worry."

"Wow...thanks," Mac said softly.

"Hiiiii Terrence!" Goo waved enthusiastically.

"Oh, uh, hi weird girl?"

"Where did you buy your new shades? I lost my old ones and I'm looking for a pair," Goo explained curiously.

"I got it at-"

"TERRENCE!" Tom yelled happily. Terrence immediately scooted backwards.

"Aww hell no! You stay away from me!"

"Terrence! Tell me your secret! How did you become such a successful quarterback? TERRENCE?! COME BACK!"

"Let go, you moron! I have to go to class!"

Goo and Mac watched them argue. "I'll never get tired of that," Goo chuckled. She punched him in the arm.

"Admit it, your brother is pretty cool," she said. Mac grinned back in response.

"He sure is."

_End_

* * *

><p><strong>And we are finally finished!<strong>

**Thank you all so much for all your support! I enjoyed reading the reviews you guys sent me, and the notifications about favs and follows made me smile. :) Plus writing back replies was very engaging!**

**So...now you're probably wondering what ****I'll be doing next. **

**As for a sequel...****I have so many ideas (including a Foster's home and Gravity falls crossover following Mac's highschool life. I can already imagine lots of mysterious plot twists, Gideon complicating everything, and yadah yadah). Unfortunately there are only so many of my ideas I can finish, and I'm not quite sure if this story necessarily needs a sequel. So I guess it really depends on how much you guys really want it and my time.**

**Then there's my other unfinished Foster's Home fic, _Trapped_. Yeah. To be honest, I have no idea what to do with it. I have the entire outline drawn, but reading back at it, it was my first fanfic...and the writing style makes me cringe. :/ But I'm not a quitter, so I guess I'll revise some of the chapters to make the story flow smoother and continue the best I can. When the next update is going to be, I have no idea. I'll try my best, but no guarentees.**

**Other than the two fics mentioned above, I don't think I'll start another Foster's fic (unless I miraculously get another plot bunny). But again, we'll see. :)**

**I know most of my plans are vague, but my priority was set on finishing this story. So now that we're done, I think I'll take a short break. **

**To all my fellow readers/writers: ****Have a Merry Christmas, and have a Happy New Year!**

**~Phoesong**


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